ater-tight. Enclosing the bath all round the four sides are six
steps, the sixth landing the bather on the _Schola_, or platform. The
riser of the bottom steps varies in depth from 15in. to 11in., with a
tread of 14in., the next riser is 14in. with a tread of 11in., as also
is the next step and the one following. The step above has a rise of
12in., and a tread of 14in. This step was scarcely covered with water,
but it is evident the water flowed over it when bathers agitated it.
The riser or the step above, 10in. to 12in., completes the flight and
helped to keep the water within proper bounds, giving a total depth of
6ft. 8in. to the bath, and from 5ft. 9in. to 5ft. 11in. for the water.
These steps are quite devoid of lead (except, in places, the riser
of the lower step and at the north-west corner), and it is not clear
whether they had at any time such a covering, although I am inclined
to think so, as it evidently went beneath the piers and under the
central pedestal. At the bottom step, in the north-east corner, was a
bronze sluice. The frame of this sluice, with an opening of 13in. by
12in., I found in position when I excavated my way up the drain, but
I was obliged to remove it in order to force my way into the bath. It
has not been replaced, but is preserved in the Pump Room, and weighs
more than 1 cwt. 2 qrs. An overflow was provided, immediately above
the hatchway, by a grating 15in. wide that was doubtless of bronze
also, but it had been removed, the stud-holes in the stones alone
remaining.[16] The extreme surface of the water measured 82ft. 10in.
by 40ft. 11in. and was a parallelogram, except that the north-western
angle was cut off by the steps being carried obliquely in three tiers
from the bottom a length of 7ft. at an angle of 39 deg. with the western
end. Resting on the platform, formed by these three steps, is a
quarter circle pedestal,[17] on which stands a large stone 6ft. 8in.
long and 9in. thick, over-hanging its base, and presenting a concave
line towards the bath with an _ovolo_ section in its thickness. This
stone spans a large channel 2ft. 3in. wide, within which is fitted a
very thick lead pipe, gradually narrowed _horizontally_ and turned
up under the _ovolo_ concave stone. Through this aperture the mineral
water was thrown into the bath in a sort of spray, so that it might be
cooled in its passage. A deposit from the water is incrusted over the
stone and pipe several inches in thickness, until