This writer and his family made a return visit to the bath house on a sunny Sunday afternoon in early August 2001.

He was gratified to witness a regular stream of other interested visitors who, having read about the site the local press, had taken the trouble to come and see what the fuss was about for themselves. One gentleman told me how he'd "had to knock on several doors" before obtaining directions to the place.

Of greater concern, however, was the evident deterioration in the monument since our last visit, approximately three years earlier. Most of the aforementioned tiles, stamped with the legend LEG XX VV (see below) and the symbol of a wild boar, have vanished and whole sections of the hypocaust bases have been smashed and were scattered about the site...

Left: Facing away from the entrance to the bath house, showing its wonderfully overgrown suroundings

A detail of one of the tiles forming the pilae of the bath's hypocaust system.

The stamped inscription of the Twentieth Legion, "LEG XX VV" may clearly be seen.

Far more of these tiles were in evidence during our first visit in 1998 and we could now find no trace of those bearing the 20th Legion's wild boar symbol.

What became of them?

17/12/01 Hi Steve, Thanks for the tour and the info about the Melyd Avenue site. 
I used to play cricket against the school adjacent to the site, unbeknowns that I was playing on a Roman settlement! My cousin lives just a stone's-throw from there.  When over in Prestatyn in 1988 visiting my mother, who is now dead, I photographed the bath-house and was interested in the display they had in the Prestatyn Library. I note that you intend to add more pictures to your site and look forward to seeing them.  All of the area around where I lived in earlier times (now 50 years since I left there), is very rich in history, although I wasn't aware of just how much. I used to deliver meat by bike to all around Melyd Avenue,
Regards,
Clive Williams, Hamilton, New Zealand.