The lead in sheets (of about 10ft. by 5ft. square) was turned up at the edges and burnt, not soldered together, but these joints are in many cases now imperfect.  This well secured bottom, or floor, appears to have been placed in position, rather to keep the hot water from ascending into the bath from the springs beneath than to make the bath water-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 the petrification entirely stopped the flow of water, which was then compelled to flow over instead of under the stone.[18] The water was conducted a distance of 38ft. in the