Page - 171 - in The Power of Urban Water - Studies in premodern urbanism

10 SyracusanWaterNetworks inAntiquity 171 generally used in a funerary or votive context, as shown by that of Buscemi, which offers a dedicationtoApollo,AnnaandPaides,datedtotheendof theRomanRepublic (2nd−1st century BC).These tabulaeansatae thenbecometheusualholdersofRomanepitaphsuntila lateperiod. Their function needs to be clarified here: while they appear occasionally, without recurring regularity, did theyhave a technical function relevant to thediggingor to the rehabilitationof thesectionconcerned?Dotheyhavea topographical indication, letterornumber, favouring the identification in thegallery?Whatever theirmeaning, they indicate tous toan imperialRoman context. It is unlikely, given their location in the hydraulic gallery, that they correspond to religious dedications, although tabulae found in the region have a religious or funerary func- tion. Fig. 10:Syracuse, tabula ansata in the Bottiglieria gallery.