Roman Baths (Bath) a geological fault (the Pennyquick fault). In 1983 a new spa water bore-hole was sunk, providing a clean and safe supply of spa water for drinking in the Pump Room. Archaeological evidence indicates that the site of the baths may have been a centre of worship used by Celts; the springs were dedicated to the goddess Sulis, whom the Romans identified with Minerva. Geoffrey of Monmouth in his largely fictional "Historia Regum Britanniae" describes how in 836 BC the spring was discovered by the British king Bladud who built the first Moorish baths. Early in the 18th century Geoffrey's obscure
Aquae Flaviae details of that founding remain obscure. Ptolemy suggests that it was founded in Turodi territory, a theory that has been strengthened by the existence of epigraphic evidence documenting the presence of Turodi. Aquae Flaviae Aquae Flaviae (or "Aquæ Flaviæ") is the ancient Roman city and former bishopric (now a Latin Catholic titular see) of Chaves, a municipality in the Portuguese district of Vila Real. The northwest peninsular region is an area of hot springs and Roman settlements linked to the exploitation of valuable natural resources. Aquae Flaviae was the principal "municipium civitas" in the northwest (from epigraphic findings) implanted in