Introduction

Tonight, I am posting information on Bothwellhaugh Roman Bathhouse which is located in Strathclyde Country Park, south-east of Glasgow. General location is S.W. Scotland.

Summary facts and information-Part 1

• Strathclyde Country Park is located on the outskirts of Motherwell in North Lanarkshire. The park lies in 400 hectares of countryside in the valley of the River Clyde. Location is about fifteen miles S.E. of Glasgow.
• The Bathhouse was constructed about AD 142 which is contemporary with the construction of the Antonine Wall.This latter structure, a turf fortification, was built by the Romans across what is now the Central Belt. For about twenty years the Antonine Wall was the northern frontier of the Roman Empire.
• The Bathhouse facility is associated with a nearby Roman fort only scant evidence of which remains.
• Located on low-lying ground near South Calder Water, a river.
• Bothwellhaugh fort was on the line of a Roman road linking Carlisle ‘Luguvalio’ (in N.W. England) with the River Clyde (in S.W.Scotland). The fort covered an area of about 4.1 acres and could have held a cohort of up to 480 men. Actual location is about twenty miles south of the Antonine Wall and eighty two miles north of Hadrian’s Wall.
• Site occupied twice during the Antonine period (AD 138-158).
• An archaeological excavation was undertaken in the period 1975-6.
• The remains have been reconstructed in original position but at a higher level due to problems with the water table.
• The Bathhouse consisted of a vestibule,cold room, two warm rooms, a hot room with hot bath and a furnace room.
• Up to twenty soldiers at a time could have used the bathhouse. In Roman times bathing was a social occasion, not just for personal hygiene.

Summary facts and information-Part 2

The site is easily accessible via the country park. Nearest car park is about 5-10 mins walk.

A similar bathhouse can be viewed at Bearsden, near Glasgow, which was on the the line of the Antonine Wall.

Another aspect of the Bathhouse

More information

The publication Visitors’ Guide to Scotland contains a wide range of information concerning Scotland’s history, including the Roman period.The ISBN is 978-1-9161332-0-4. Also available via Kindle.