Seite - 32 - in The Power of Urban Water - Studies in premodern urbanism

32 Nicolas Lamare Fountains in the imperial city Fountains in theheart of the city: displayingwater andpower Ingeneral, fountainswere locatedonprominent sites,whichmustbeunderstood in relation to their iconographic programme, the inscriptions they displayed, and the political context in which theywerebuilt. InCaesarea, a fountainmusthaveexistednear thesouthgateof thecity and outside the walls. Its construction would have been part of a programme similar to that mentioned inan inscription,dated201,whichevokes the repairingof the roadbuilt toenhance the entrance to the city.2 This inscription is reminiscent of themention in theAugustanHistory of theconstructionof theseptizodiumbySeptimiusSeverus,at thesoutherncornerof thePala- tine, to make a good impression on the Africans arriving in Rome.3 Likewise in the East, at Apameus, thenymphaeumlocatedbetween thenortherngateand thepilaster, constituting the startingpoint of thegreat colonnade,was the first intramuralbuilding that avisitorwould see, thusgiving concrete visibility to the emperor’s beneficent action that an inscriptiondiscovered nearbymighthighlight.4 Fountains adorned, impressed, and were the ideal support for an honorary inscription, whether it was located on the outskirts or in the city itself.5We know of a limited number of Africanfountains forwhichtheassociatedhonorary inscription isavailable.TheLacusofTeren- tius is themost representative example:6 located at the crossroads of several lanes, preceded by a stepped platform and composed of a high podium, the honorary inscription7 recalled its constructionand that of theaqueduct supplying the city,while abase,8whichcanbeassumed tohavebeen surmountedby a statue, commemorated the cura aquarumwhichwasperformed by a notable from the city (Fig. 1). The nymphaeum-septizonium of Lambaesis,9 according to Michel Janon’s reconstruction, highlighted on the entablature the two inscriptions commemo- rating the construction and restoration of the fountain10 along one of the city’s major roads (Fig. 2). The fountain, as at Dougga,was located at the point of arrival of the aqueduct in the cityandwas theplacewherevarious inscriptions, recalling thedevelopments carriedoutat the watersourceorontheaqueduct,weredisplayed.ThesamepatterncanbeseeninCuicul,where the inscription on the entablature of the Fountain of the Tetrarchy11mentioned the restoration of awater supply system for the city (Fig.3). Other fountains, like anymonument thatwas the result of anact of euergetism,presentedaconspicuous inscriptionon theirmain façade, some- times according to an arrangement that gaveway to a certain originality. The inscription12 of the fountain in Calama, if we followAmable Ravoisié’s records, partly followed the curvature of the façade, but also the entablature spur.13 In Sbeitla, the fountain to the southwest of the forumwasdecoratedwithan inscription,14 the text ofwhichwas interspersedwith the capitals 2 CILVIII, 20982= ILS, 5376; Leveau 1984, 27. 56. 3 SHASev. 24, 3. 4 AE2000, 1495;Balty 1972, 20;Vannesse 2011, 191f. 5 See in theEast, inGerasa, twomonolithic fountains, placedat the corners of an important crossroads, re-using honorarybasesdedicated toTrajanandHadrian,perhaps to recall that thewatersupplysystemhadbeendesigned under the reignof the former andput into serviceunder the latter: Seigne 2008, 45–49 fountainsnos. 12. 13. 6 Golvin–Garat 2010; Lamare 2019, 378–380no.48. 7 CILVIII, 1480=26534=AE 1966, 511 =AE 1991, 1665=AE2000, 1725–1726= ILTun, 1408=Dougga, 36. 8 AE1966, 512=Dougga37. 9 Janon 1973;Aupert 1974, 97–101; Letzner 1999, 405–407no.249; Lamare 2019, 325–328no. 16. 10 CILVIII, 2658=AE 1973, 645; CILVIII, 2657= 18105= ILS, 5626=AE, 1973, 645. 11 AE1920, 15= ILAlg II 3, 7859. 12 CILVIII, 5377= 5483=5484= 17525= ILAlg I, 298. 13 Ravoisié 1846 II, 34f. pl. 33; Letzner 1999, 398no.237. 14 CIL VIII, 234 = 11329 = AE 1958, 158 = ILPSbeitla 84: [DD(ominis) nn(ostris)] / Valenti/niano / et Va/[lente / Augg(ustis) / --- / ---]OTA// [Fontem/ --- / ---]lius /Festus/v(ir) c(larissimus) / --- /civibus/ [suisd(onum)d(edit)].