The article explores new perspectives on the significance of the Roman Baths to the history of the city of Bath, England. Topics discussed include the discovery of the remains of a temple podium to the Romano-British goddess Sulis Minerva by Scottish antiquary James Irvine in November 1867, persistence of the healing interpretation of the site despite the discovery that Aquae Sulis was a sanctuary and not a settlement, and imperialism connotations of the building of the sanctuary.