Visitors watch as the Great Bath is cleared of ochre-coloured mineral-rich sediment, The Roman Baths, Bath, Somerset, England.

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"...teams of Bath & North East Somerset Council staff spent six hours scrubbing ochre-coloured mineral-rich sediment from the bottom of the pool. The Great Bath is the largest of the recreational swimming pools in the centre of this vast 2000-year old temple and religious bathing complex. A quarter of a million gallons (1,106,400 litres) of hot water flow through the site every day from the thermal spring at the heart of the site, the only natural hot spring in the United Kingdom. To drain the Great Bath, the hot water was diverted through the original Roman overflow, a method of cleaning that has not changed in 2000 years. Once the Roman-designed sluice-gate was closed, the Great Bath filled up again at the rate of 13 litres per second. "

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Size: 3624px × 2415px
Location: The Roman Baths, Abbey Church Yard, Bath, BA1 1LZ England
Photo credit: © Maurice Savage / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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