Page - 40 - in The Power of Urban Water - Studies in premodern urbanism

40 Nicolas Lamare Fountains,andwatermorebroadly, thuscontribute to theaestheticsof theurbanlandscape but, beyond that, to thepermanenceof aprosperous situation.54 The inscriptions testify to two majormotivations in theconstructionof fountains,whichcouldbe referred toasamœnitasand utilitas.55 Thus inAbbirMaius, a fountainwas built ad usumutriusque aquae, probably at the endof the twobranchesof aqueducts fromwhich it discharged thewater into thecity, but also as an ornamentum ciuitatis, participating in the city’s decoration.56 In Thysdrus, the emphasis is onwater availability,per plateas lacubus inpertita, divided into fountains or basins through- out the city.57 Hydraulic installations also refer to the salus. An inscription from Althiburos mentions thecollectionof sources carriedoutbeneficia etiamornamentummoenibus et salutem ciuibus.58 This idea can be found in the famous inscription of Tiddis, which refers to water supply works, around 250–251.59 The words ad salutem populiwould, according to François Jacques, bemuchmore thana reference to the ‘goodhealth’, salus alsomeaning thepreserva- tionof anestablished situation, coherentwith the ideaof a restorationofhydraulic structures. Fountains in the late antique city Keeping the fountains visible: remodelling theurbanspace After the installationofmanyfountains incitiesduring theEarlyRomanEmpire, theirconstruc- tiondidnot stop in lateantiquity. InLambaesis, anymphaeumwasbuilt near thegromaof the camp,60 perhaps at the endof the 3rd century during a restoration on the occasion of Emperor Maximian’s visit.61 It is located immediately east of the praetorium, on the south side of the decumanusmaximus. Similarly, in Tipasa, thenymphaeum is implantedalong thedecumanus on thesouthside. Thepavingof the roadwasprobablymodifiedduring theconstructionof the fountain: just in front of it, the alignment of the slabs stops and the stones are placed in such away that they formacircular pattern.62 InTimgadandCuicul, fountainswerebuilt along thedecumanusand thecardo,butovera portionwhichhadbeenextended in the2ndcenturyor theSeveranperiod. Indeed, theFountain ofLiberalis inTimgadis200mfromthe ‘ArchofTrajan’,whichmarks theboundaryof thecity’s earlier urban setting. These suburbs must have developed very early in the 2nd century, and majormonuments, such as the temple of theGenius coloniae or theMarket of Sertius, located in thewestern suburb, bear witness to the creation of these districts in a very early period.63 Thus, the fountain, built in the third quarter of the 3rd century,wasmost probably built along an existing road (Fig.6). The opposite reasoning can give us an idea of the urban topography at that time: it is unlikely that Liberalis would have had such a sumptuous fountain built in an empty or sparsely frequented area, which confirms the idea that this suburb was already urbanized.64 InCuicul, theFountainof theTetrarchy65 isbuilt in frontof the façadeof theGreat 54 Jacques 1983, 207–209. 55 SeeSchmölder-Veit 2009, 23–25 for awider analysis on theWesternMediterranean. 56 AE1993, 1738. 57 CILVIII, 51 = ILS, 5777=AE2008, 1611. 58 CILVIII, 1828= ILS, 5783= ILTun, 1645. 59 AE1946, 61= ILAlg II 1, 3596. 60 Rakob–Storz 1974;Rakob 1979; Lamare 2019, 328f. no. 17. 61 CILVIII, 2571= 18057=AE 1974, 723a; CILVIII, 2572= ILS, 5786. 62 Aupert 1974, 77pl. 2. 63 Lassus 1966. 64 Lassus1965,247f. suggests that ‘thought-out’urbanplanningwasalreadybeingprojectedunder theAntonines andcontinuedunder theSeverandynasty. 65 Ballu 1921, 66; Lamare 2019, 322–324no. 15.