Water for the City, Fountains for the People : Monumental Fountains in the Roman East : an Archaeological Study of Water Management / Julian Richard.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [281]-303) and index.

1. Back to Basics : Towards a Functional Definition of Roman Monumental Fountains -- I. A brief historiography of the Roman monumental fountain -- II. The study of Roman monumental fountains : remaining problems and unexplored aspects -- III. An attempt of definition : nymphaeum vs. monumental fountain? -- IV. Towards an architechtural and functional definition of monumental fountains -- V. Brief evaluation of the available documentation -- 2. A Brief Overview of Fountain Architecture in the Greek and Roman East -- I. Archaic and Classical periods -- Hellenistic period -- III. Roman Imperial period -- 3. Fountains and Urban Water Networks -- I. The Roman aqueduct : utilitarian revolution or superfluous luxury? -- II. Unified programs of waterworks? The chronological affiliation between monumental fountains and aqueducts -- III. The spatial and functional affiliation between aqueducts and monumental fountains -- IV. The chronological and spatial affiliation between aqueducts and monumental fountains : concluding remarks -- V. East and West -- VI. Monumental fountains and aqueducts : concluding remarks -- 4. Flowing Waters : The Hydraulic Apparatus of Monumental Fountains -- I. The Size of monumental fountains : a meaningful criterion for evaluating their functional spectrum? -- II. The hydraulic apparatus : evidence for water management, shortage and surplus -- III. In a diachronic perspective : alterations of the hydraulic apparatus -- 5. Hydraulic Impact and Water Quality -- I. Spatial and functional affiliation-hydraulic apparatus : first insights on the function and status of monumental fountains in urban distribution networks -- II. The rice and fall of water : on the rate of flow and hydraulic impact -- III. The hydraulic impact of monumental fountains : a comparison with water management in public baths -- IV. A Levantine exception? -- V. On hygiene and water quality -- VI. Some final remarks on sources and methodology -- 6. Water in the City : The Functional Geography of Roman Monumental Fountains -- I. The urban insertion of monumental fountains : general trends -- II. The preferential location of monumental fountains : some reflections -- 7. Monumental Fountains in Late Antiquity : A New ' Water Culture' in Public Spaces? -- I. Functional modifications and their meaning for water management at the scale of the city -- II. Newly built fountains in Late Antiquitiy : 'nymphaea' vs. fountain-houses? -- III. Maintenance, restoration and abondonment : the fate of High Imperial monuments fountains -- IV. Concluding remarks : a new ' fountain culture' in Late Antiquity? -- 8. Utility vs. Representation? Recentering the Functional Spectrum of Roman Monumental Fountains -- I. The representative dimensions of Roman monumental fountains -- II. Monumental fountains as a sign of Technical progress? -- III. Concluding remarks : bridging the gap between utility and representation.

Monumental fountains were essential utilitarian and aesthetic components of any well-to-do Roman urban center. Besides their functional role of providing water, they were also designed to express the social, political and religious universe of Roman cities. Prominently located in public spaces, they were active bearers of collective and individual identities. This study examines the function and the symbolic meaning of monumental fountains within the complex framework of urban life in the Eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. Different aspects of monumental fountains -architecture, hydro-technical apparatus, sculpture assemblages, epigraphy,..- were studied from an integrated perspective in order to draw an exhaustive picture of these ubiquitous symbols of opulence and self-representation.

This volume aims to explore the rich utilitarian dimension of ancient monumental fountains that were found in Roman cities. Archaeological research has brought to light dozens of ancient monumental fountains. For any well-to-do urban center, they were a necessary utilitarian and aesthetic amenity. In Roman times, public fountains reached a degree of architectural opulence and technical complexity never seen before. Through the statues and inscriptions displayed on their façades, they acted as powerful bearers of individual and collective identities. In traditional scholarly research, this representative dimension of monumental fountains is generally strongly emphasized, to the detriment of their essential role in the provision of water to urban centers. The aim of this monograph is to explore the rich utilitarian dimension of monumental fountains in the Roman East, from their relationship to the aqueduct to the various technical details involving the distribution, display, use and drainage of water. Issues such as user-friendliness, hygiene and the preservation of water under harder climatic conditions will be examined as well, following a diachronic perspective that also includes the later evolution of public fountains in Late Antiquity. Exploring the utilitarian dimension of monumental fountains reestablishes the balance with their representative function: this is the most accurate way of explaining their stunning success in the cities of the Mediterranean.