The Use of Water as Indication of the Presence of Life: Technical Ways of Employment in the Archaeological Documentation

Abstract

Ancient urbanization often is strictly connected with rivers and sources. In the ancient world, the usage of water is also linked with the idea of sa-crum and with specific religious cults (i.e. the King's Numa mith or the legend of the nymph Egeria). A complex technique of rain water preser-vation has been elaborated in Rome by building structures of water sup-plying: the exemples of Segni's colony and Ventotene's imperial island are here examined. Due to the general absence of water supply directly in the houses, public fountains were largely present in the public ways.