PhD Project
Late antique cities witnessed an extraordinary proliferation of water features, yet, especially in the West, this phenomenon remains almost completely unexplored. Evidence for fountains and nymphaea that were constructed, embellished, or restored during late antiquity can be found throughout the Roman Empire. However, even in the eastern Mediterranean, where numerous monumental examples still stand, late antique fountains have only recently appeared in scholarship, in contrast to the ample attention paid to their imperial predecessors. Meanwhile, the number of known late antique fountains continues to grow as their remains are increasingly being recognized at archaeological sites.
This project will be the first comprehensive study on fountains and nymphaea in the Late Roman West. Collating literary, legal, epigraphic, and archaeological evidence, this study will explore the transformations and new functions of these essential public and domestic features, and examine their sculptural décor in connection with new aesthetic norms of late antique image reception. In particular, the project will focus on the positions and meaning of fountains in the urban landscapes of the Late Roman West through case studies on Ostia Antica and other late antique sites. Late antique fountains and nymphaea are intrinsically linked with another widespread, contemporary habit—the reuse of Roman funerary material in later constructions. By investigating these phenomena, as well as considering differences between East and West, this thesis will provide new insights into the study of late antique urbanism and social history.
