Acquiescence of Absurdity: Martin Gray Strikes Back

You may recall back in December I posted a quick fisking of an article that purported the pyramids and sphinx of Egypt to be master products of "a society" that, as it went on, was identified subconsciously as yet another case of "The aliens did it!" (since, after all, ancient peoples couldn't possibly have built structures). After a few months of peace, I have uncovered another quite unique little paper upon Bath (England) by the same Martin Gray, and which I will reproduce here in full (with my own commentary included in red).

Archaeological excavations have revealed that the human use of the hot mineral springs at Bath began at least 10,000 years ago and have continued to the present times. Keep in mind that Mr. Gray has not included footnotes or citations of any kind save for the term "archaeological excavations". First frequented by Neolithic hunter-gatherer tribes, the springs were later venerated as sacred by Celtic, Roman, and Christian peoples. I highly doubt that Christian peoples "venerated as sacred" a wellspring, but of course there is not enough information from Mr. Gray to determine what exactly he means by "sacred". The Celts, who arrived in England around 700 BC, erected what are believed to be the first shrine structures at the springs. Dedicated to Sulis, a goddess of water, the shrine was a religious center for much of southwestern England. Soon after the arrival of the Romans in England in 43 AD, the Celtic shrine was taken over and the goddess Sulis was identified with the Roman goddess Minerva as a healing deity. Minerva was the Roman version of the Greek goddess Athena, who is the patron of justice, civilization, skill, art, and so on. However, amongst the numerous traits ascribed to Minerva-Athena, 'healing' is not one of them, unless I'm mistaken. Beginning sometime around 65 AD, and continuing for nearly four centuries, the Romans constructed increasingly elaborate bathing and temple complexes at the springs.
The main spring, bubbling out of the ground at a rate of a quarter of a million gallons per day and maintaining a constant temperature of 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Centigrade) was however, far more than just a source of hot water to the Romans. It was a sacred place where mortals could communicate with deities of the underworld and seek the assistance of the goddess Sulis-Minerva, and also the god of healing, Asclepius. I've never read anything regarding a primitive hot tub and worshiping Hades or Athena...perhaps Mr. Gray could enlighten me? Archaeological excavations in the bottom of the spring have brought to light a remarkable collection of sacred votive offerings thrown by worshippers into the waters. Throw a coin over your shoulder, and make a wish... Also from the spring's bottom, over 12,000 coins - spanning the entire Roman period - have revealed that the behavior of throwing coins into a spring to the accompaniment of a wish is a universal and ancient human behavior. The numerous bathing pools were fed with a constant flow of water delivered by lead pipes which still function today, and the largest bath was lined with 42 great sheets of lead whose combined weight exceeded 8 and 1/2 tons.
This great healing shrine of Aquae Sulis was not to last however. Following the departure of the Roman legions from Britain early in the fifth century AD, the city and its splendid temples and baths swiftly fell into decline. Over time the baths were covered by the relentless silting of the spring and only the fallen temple of Sulis-Minerva marked the ancient sacred site. Yet the town was not abandoned. Rather it continued to grow and by the seventh century the first Christian structure had been established upon the ruins of the Roman temple. Mr. Gray's purpose in mentioning the "Christian structure" upon the "ruins of the Roman temple" is unknown, unless he wishes to establish a sort of continuum between religions, i.e that Christianity draws from the mythology of the pagans. For the next twelve hundred years a succession of churches rose and fell upon the hallowed ground with the currently standing abbey having been constructed between 1499 and the mid 17th century. The hot springs, while never again receiving architectural development equal to that of the Romans, were continuously used throughout the medieval period. By the beginning of the 1600's the springs had begun to attract royal and aristocratic families intent on 'taking the cure', and by the 1720's Bath was on the way to becoming a highly fashionable spa. Where are my cucumber slices and hot stones? With this rise in popularity of the springs and a concurrent need for more bathing and housing facilities, construction excavations were begun which resulted in the discovery of the ancient Roman foundations. Archaeological excavations have continued to the present day and the city of Bath now boasts a Roman monument unparalleled in north-western Europe. Scientific study of the waters of Bath spring have revealed the presence of 43 different minerals including iron, magnesium, potassium, copper and radium. It sounds like it should be rust-colored... The prehistoric, Roman and early Christian people using the springs had no (known) way of determining the nature of these minerals yet none the less the springs have been venerated as a healing site since time immemorial. I enjoy a nice hot shower...does that count as "venerating a healing site"? Astute readers will recognize in this matter another indication of the extraordinary (and little understood) energetic resonance between humans and the earth. Whoa, there! "energetic resonance between humans and the earth"? Until this point, Mr. Gray had a dubious but not wholly loony article on the history of Bath which, although it could be improved upon starting at least with some brief citations, was not entirely a whackjob. But here--"energetic resonance" et al.--Mr. Gray has veered off to the far left side of "New Age" loony-bin-ness.

That's all for this one, folks...