The Roman sewer underneath Church Street

Discovered underneath the aptly named pub in 1930 were the remains of the fortress bathhouse. This was not just a place to wash, but also to socialise and play sports and games - a 'leisure centre' in our terms. When it came to washing the Romans did not use soap, but sweated dirt out by vigorous exercise and by spending time in the caldarium. This was a room heated to a high temperature by a system of underfloor channels (a hypocaust) part of which can still be seen underneath the pub. The bather's next step was to scrape off the sweat and dirt using a strigil, a special metal tool, followed by a cold plunge and a massage.

Serving the baths was a great stone-built sewer which still survives under nearby Church Street. In the silt which filled the sewer, archaeologists found some gold trinkets, probably dropped by officers' wives who were permitted to use the baths alongside their men folk.