Still splashing waters: monumental fountains in Late Antique North Africa (original) (raw)

Fountains were remarkable buildings in ancient cities. First, their functional aspect as water suppliers made them essential to daily life. Then, under the Roman Empire, they gradually played a role in ornamenting public space and expressing political discourse that modified their architecture and appearance. By using both archaeological and epigraphic data, this paper aims to discuss the building, remodelling, restoration and abandonment of monumental fountains in Late Antique cities (4th-6th c.), but also the funding of these interventions. It demonstrates that monumental fountains were still an important feature of urban ornamentation that implied an effective operation of the water supply network.