Conclusion

This is the end of our exploration into the goddess of the Roman Baths. 

We have promised you a conclusion. An answer to if the goddess is real. This is not a murder mystery. You will not have to wait for a final line denouement.

Our answer is this.

The goddess does exist. 

Let us examine the evidence one more time.

Our journey has made us think about Bath in a different light. This has always been a city of pilgrimage, and we know now what it means to walk round these streets on a quest. For millennia Bath has mixed religion and entertainment. The Abbey sits surrounded by cafes and restaurants. The moon and sun are tourist attractions. Is there something under the surface pulling strings to keep it this way?  

We have stripped the streets of their history. We no longer think of Bath as a Georgian or a Roman town, but a place of importance dating back thousands of years.

It is not the Georgian splendour or Roman ruins that make Bath. It is the water.

Bath is obsessed with water. And with the goddess. Once you start looking, you will spot signs everywhere, from the names of businesses, to buildings, to its history. This is a part of the world prized by emperors and kings, and at the middle of all this are the waters, and the goddess who swirls below. 

The river Avon ploughs through the city, the canal boats patrol the outskirts. Once you start looking, there is more river than road. River Avon means River River. 

We have grazed the history of the area. There is so much more to unwrap. Head down the footpaths near the river, and you can find tree lined canal paths five minutes walk from an industrial estate. Go back millions of years, and this spot on Earth was ocean. The rock still displays the creatures that swam here. Saxon poems tell of the wonder of the ruins of Roman Britain. 

There was a hospital still visible today called the Royal Mineral Hospital that specialised in hyrdrotherapy treatment. Goldfish used to swim in the Roman Baths at the turn of the century. Queen Elizabeth visited the waters. Akeman Street is named after the historical name of the area, where you could soothe your aching limbs. One of Chaucer’s tales is the ‘Wife Of Bath.’ Herschel discovered Uranus here, a planet suspected to be mostly water. 

And hiding in plain sight is the name of the town itself.

Our contribution to this history is collating suspected sightings of her. You can see the similarities in our reports. A woman standing near the water. She often wears a flowing dress, regardless of whether this is suitable for the weather conditions. Her voice is calm and focused, with any answers brief and measured. Little metal tablets. Vanishing without warning. Those who live on the waters knowing her by sight. 

Consider if even half the people we’ve spoken to are telling the truth. Or at least is accurate to the extent that our interviewees and emailers believe they saw something. These are only the people that got in touch. This could be a small sample of those who think they saw her.

You could say we set up a template to crib from in our original wave, and any following contributors plagiarised from there. But many responses appeared hours after we put the advert up. We received those emails so quickly that it would have to be a joint effort of deception from our interviewees.

And what you see on this site is the final product. We’ve emailed people back, had phone conversations, clarified points, met in person for coffees and pints. If this is a huge game of lies, then that is of interest in itself. 

However, we accept there is no tangible proof. We lack the smoking gun of something like a photograph of the goddess walking across the water. CCTV of a woman appearing by the canal, and then disappearing.   

But the goddess exists. She is still a part of Bath this very day. Any visitor to the city can get to know her. Build a picture in their heads. This is not a vague outline of a myth found in a few dusty tourist shops, but a reality pumping culture and wealth around the city.

If you have read our reports, looked into our history, maybe read some of our recommended books, you have an idea of the goddess. You can use our map to visit the exact spot where the sightings took place, either in person or online. You can visit her sacred temple. She may exist within your mind, but she can exist there, and make a tangible impact on your time in Bath. 

This may frustrate some of you who demand physical evidence. Those who want to shake the goddess’s hand. Do not fret. Even our most remarkable storytellers never claimed such a prize. Our final conclusion will work whether you believe in these as physical experiences or not. 

Visit Bath. Think about the goddess patrolling the streets, whether as an empirical truth, or an imagined reality. Draw comfort and inspiration from knowing this is a charmed city. That you can drink magic water to improve your health. Be part of a tradition of visitors from across the globe that goes back to prehistory. See the point where the water meets the sun.

Take a walk around. You may spot someone you know. 

Does something lie below the waters?