Episode 2

The builders tackle the bath house - the epitome of Roman sophistication. Theirs will boast under floor heating, a plunge pool and steam room. But, in one of the hottest Junes on record, the workmen are finding it hard going. Darren the brickie gets a glow of achievement from his successful brick arch for the bathhouse furnace, and Kevin the plumber delights in his new-found knowledge of the Romans, but the room layout seems dysfunctional to foreman Jim's modern eye. Meanwhile, archaeologist Dai Morgan Evans, the villa's designer, feels they should be making faster progress. To inspire them, Dai takes the builders to see some of the best preserved Roman ruins in the world, at Ephesus in Turkey. Tim the plasterer is particularly overawed by the remains of detailed mosaics and plasterwork in a well-preserved villa. Dai also takes them to a real Turkish bath to experience first hand how the villa's bathhouse would have worked. It proves a memorable, if painful, bonding experience! Back in Wroxeter, the men get to grips with making tubulae, the rectangular clay pipes that will be vital for heating the bathhouse. Dai has to adapt his Roman scaffolding to meet modern health and safety. Fred the chippie scores a success with his authentic Roman windows. And, finally, the first volunteers arrive to help with the build, and they're all women. Foreman Jim soon has them hard at work.