Extrait de la carte Ordnance Survey : Map of Roman Britain.

Histoire : 

    Le territoire semble avoir de toute évidence avoir appartenu aux Dobunni avant d'avoir appartenu aux Belgae.

    Il est tombé aux mains des Romains lors des campagnes militaires menées dans le sud de l'Ile de Bretagne, sur ordre du gouverneur Aulus Plautius, soit vers 47 après J-C

    Il est possible qu'il ait existé un camp romain en bordure de la Fosse Way, à proximité des sources d'eau chaude.

    Bath a fait par la suite partie de la Britannia Prima, qui avait Corinium / Cirencester pour capitale.

    Certains historiens ont proposé de voir dans la forme anglo-saxonne Bath une relation avec le nom de la fameuse bataille du Mons Badonicus, gagnée par le roi Arthur sur les saxons, mais dont l'identification très discutée n'est pas encore établie de façon définitive. 

    Le dernier prince britto-romain d'Aquae Sulis a été Boduocus.

    Bath est tombée aux mains des West-saxons après la victoire de Ceawlin à Deorham sur les Britto-romains, en 577.

Reconstitution archéologique des bains romains d'Aquae Sulis / Bath

Extrait de la plaquette The Roman Baths, publication de Bath Archeological Trust; 1978

           page 1

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            suite page 2

Pages extraites de : Bath Official Guide Book. 1981

Un autel a été dédicacé à Sulis / Minerve, par Quintus Pompeius Anicetus. (RIB 148) (cf. Rivet & Smith : The Place-names of roman Britain; p 252).

- Sulis : (RIB 141d, 155), forme genitive; (cf. Rivet & Smith : The Place-names of Roman Britain; p 256).

- Suli (RIB 143, 144, 146-50), forme dative;  (cf. Rivet & Smith : The Place-names of Roman Britain; p 256).

Étymologie :

A. Pour Aquae Calidae

* Rivet & Smith, p. 255-256 : 

- Ptolemy II,3,13 : Udata Terma (AQUAE CALIDAE), a polis of the Belgae.

- AI 486₃ (Iter XIV) : AQUIS SULIS; var. SOLIS.

- Ravenna 106₄ : APAUNARIS ...*

- Ravenna 109₁₀ : MINERVE.

Ravenna's form Apaunaris was taken by R&C to refer to a separate place 'some-where N.E. of Exeter', but (a) its elements suggest no meaning in British or Latin, (b) the name of Bath is otherwise missing from Ravenna (which would be unexpected), (c) the placing of Apaunaris in the list could well be for Bath, though the Cosmographer in reading from his map-source possibly took the name as applying to a place at its western rather than eastern end, and thus grouped it with more south-westerly names, and (d) the corruption of *Aque Sulis is well within the range of miscopying of this text (e.g. Age for Aque, Aquae at 65,10 and 65,14). Dillemann explains Apaunaris as a corruption of *A Tamaris, but there are no examples in the British section of such a use of a, and (a lesser objection) Tamaris is already present at 105,48. If our proposal here does not satisfy and another is sought, Apauna- in this entry might represent the Alauna of Ravenna 106,14 and 106,14, but this is unlikely because the name is already duplicated, and because it would leave the -ris unexplained.

Minerve (for -ae, genetive) has not previously been related to the name of Bath as it appears in our texts. R&C take the entry at face-value on its appearance in what purports to be a list of Scottish islands, explaining that it belongs with the group of these islands named in Latin by the Roman fleet,' (island) of Minerva'. However, the equation of the goddess Sulis with Minerva is well established (see e.g. RIB 146). We suggest that on a map - perhaps different from that which gave him Apaunaris — the Cosmographer found *Aquae Sulis Minervae, neglected the first word, and carelessly took the second as a version of *insula; he then reserved the name for mention in his list of islands, which is very confused in other respects too. Alternatively, Minerve might be a real island-name or attribute, if the ancient name of the Scillies is connected with that of Sulis: see our entry SILINA. 

DERIVATION. Ptolemy's name Aquae Calidae 'hot springs' is presumably that by which the place was first known, and has numerous Continental parallels in the names of what are today e.g. Vichy (France), Banolas (Catalonia), Caldas de Reyes (N.W. Spain) and Dzamal near the Romanian coast. It is noteworthy that Solinus mentions the fontes calidi of what is evidently Bath, together with the cult of Minerva there (see p. 85).

The nominative form of the goddess's name is *Sulis not Sul as used to be said (Jackson; see note on pp. 42-43 of RIB). Her name is cognate with Irish s'uil 'eye', but Jackson is doubtful whether there is also connection with Celtic words for 'sun' (Dottin LG 289 mentions Welsh haul and Breton heol 'sun'); AI's variant Solis is best regarded as an inspired copying error rather than a meaningful assimilation to Latin sol, since the latter would suppose a knowledge of Celtic in the copyist. The name is probably to be associated with that of the Suleviae goddesses whose cult was widespread. Texts from Bath name the goddess in the genitive, Sulis (RIB 141d, 155), and dative, Suli (RIB 143, 144, 146-50). As a place-name apparently on its own is Sulim (accusative, for nominative *Sulis) in TP, now Castel-Noëc (Morbihan, France). See also CORIA SOLILIORUM.

IDENTIFICATION. The Roman spa at Bath, Somerset (ST 7564). The attribution of the place to the Belgae depends entirely on Ptolemy and the distribution of pre-Roman coins of the Dobunni suggests that it may be incorrect (see p. 121).

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Observations JC Even : 

Racines : 

- aquae = eaux chaudes des villes thermales;

- Solis; Sulis : déesse solaire; apparenté à l'ethnonyme Suleviae, autre tribu bretonne du nord de l'Ile. 

- Minerva : nom de déesse latine 

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B. pour Bath, selon Eilert Ekwall :

- Hat Bathu, 676 BCS 43; aet Badum, 796 BCS 277; ib. 906 ASC; Bade DB. = Les Bains.

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Formes bretonnes anciennes : 

- Geoffroy de Monmouth : Kerbadum; 

- Jesus College : Kaer Vaddon.

La forme bretonne serait : 

Sources : 

* Eilert EKWALL : Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names.

* ALF RIVET & Colin SMITH : Place-names of Roman Britain.

* Bath Archeological Trust : The Roman Baths. A guide to the baths and Roman Museum.

- Bath official guide book. 181. 

- envoi de : 

* V.J.Kite, Area Librarian; Central Library; Bristol; 30 juin 1982 et 24 septembre 1982.

* D. ...Evans, Professor;  Jesus College, Oxford, 01 Octobre 1982.

Liens électroniques des sites Internet traitant de Bath / Aquae Sulis / Aquae Calidae / Aquae Minerva :  

* lien communal : 

* autres liens : 

http://www.romanbaths.co.uk/

http://www.theculturedtraveler.com/Museums/Archives/Bath.htm

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/300445448/in/pool-51035710230@N01

http://www.romanbaths.co.uk/temp/RomanBaths2006FRE.pdf (en langue française)

* forum du site Marikavel : Academia Celtica

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