Page - 110 - in The Power of Urban Water - Studies in premodern urbanism

110 DylanK. Rogers Fig. 3:Rome, ForumRomanum, AugustanPuteal andTrajanicSacel- lumof the Lacus Iuturnae. theHouse of theVestal Virgins, near theVicus Tuscus that leads to theVelabrum.25 Iuturna’s source is also known as one of the famed ancient springs of Rome, along with those of the Camenae andApollo.26 It is believed that Castor andPolluxwatered their horses at the spring associatedwith Iuturnaafter theBattle of LakeRegillus in 494BC, and thenagain after Pydna in 168BC.27 Particularly in relation to the Dioscuri’s epiphany in 494BC, there is yet another connection towater, namely that thebattle takesplace at a lake. In fact, the association to the twins is strengthened by the discovery of a statue of the pair in the forum,which is dated to immediately after Pydna.28 TheBattle of LakeRegillus has been seen as part of themythology of thebirth of theRepublic, as itwas apivotal event that led to the success of thenewRoman state.29 Subsequently, the battle is exploited in theAugustan periodwithOctavian’s victory at Actium, in the context ofwhichVergil describes how theDioscuri aidedOctavian, just as they did theRomans 500years previously.30 In theAugustan renovations of the forum,whichwere well underway, if not nearly complete, by 29BC, thememories of the Battle of Lake Regillus were easily evoked through the built environment, with Temple of Castor and Pollux next to theLacus Iuturnae, bothofwhicharedirectly across fromAugustus’ActianArch. Theancientandmythologicalassociationsof thespring, then,makethespaceanimportant one in thebuilt environment of the forum. The first phase of the spring, probably dated to the 2ndcenturyBC,aroundthetimeofPydna,monumentalizedthenaturalspringsource,byadding a rectangularbasinon top, constructedofopus incertumand linedwithcocciopesto.31With the revival of the cult byAugustus,marble veneerwasadded to thebasin, alongwithanumberof dedications, includingawhitemarbleputeal, inscribedwith Iuturnai sacrumby thecuruleaedi- le, Marcus Barbatius Pollio.32 In the time of Trajan, a small sacellumwas added immediately adjacent to thebasin (Fig.3). By the 4th centuryAD, the area included theheadquarters of the 25 Formoreon the spring, see: Lanciani 1975, 225f.; Ammerman 1990a; Corazza–Lombardi 1995, 198f. 26 Frontin. aqu. 1, 4. 27 Scullard 1981, 64. 28 Clarke 1968; Coarelli 1985, 156; LTUR III (1996) 169 s.v. Lacus Iuturnae (E.M. Steinby). 29 Rebeggiani 2013. 30 Verg.Aen.8, 678–681. Rebeggiani 2013, 57–67. 31 For the chronology anddevelopment of the precinct associatedwith Iuturna in the ForumRomanum, see the publishedexcavationsof the site inSteinby 2012. See alsoSteinby 2015. 32 CIL6.36807;Kajava 1989, 37–39.