Water in the Roman World
Engineering, Trade, Religion and Daily Life
Martin Henig editor Jason Lundock editor
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Archaeopress
Published:11th Aug '22
Should be back in stock very soon
Water in the Roman World: Engineering, Trade, Religion and Daily Life offers a wide and expansive new treatment of the role water played in the lives of people across the Roman world. Individual papers deal with ports and their lighthouses; with water engineering, whether for canals in the north-west provinces, or for the digging of wells for drinking water, and for multiple other purposes; with baths for swimming; and with spas. Further papers explore religion in water-sanctuaries and the deposition of objects in rivers as well as deities connected with water, including river gods and nymphs. A final chapter provides an overview of subjects not fully covered elsewhere, including warships and naval battles, trade and navigation, aqueducts, fishing and fish-farming, and literary response to watery landscapes, rivers and lakes. The latter include works by great landowners such as the younger Pliny with his Laurentine villa beside the sea west of Rome or by poets, among them Catullus enjoying Lake Garda and Ausonius with his loving description of the River Moselle. The contributors address the subject in a variety of different ways, as Classicists drawing largely on literature, archaeologists with experience of excavating the watery environment, and art-historians. The papers range from the theoretical, with particular interest in materiality, to more lyrical approaches which address the Romans with their problems as well as their pleasures.
'Water in the Roman World is a strong addition to our understanding of both water and waterways under the Romans, and how they are analysed and interpreted by archaeologists and academics. It is an invaluable, accessible contribution to the topic, and would make an excellent addition to the collections both of scholars and of those with more general interests.' – Andrew Tibbs (2023): Current Archaeology Issue 395
'This volume is extremely successful in that it brings together a number of different authors, who all provide new perspectives, often through new evidence, on how water was used and perceived. It should be noted that readers looking for the most up-to-date bibliography will not always find that in some chapters, such as in Henig’s. But that certainly does not detract from the work, which is a valuable resource for those wishing to plunge deeper into Roman water.' – Dylan K Rogers (2023): Current World Archaeology, March 2023
'The articles in the volume are brilliantly written and understandable, the arguments are convincing... Overall, the contributions convey fundamental insights and provide important suggestions for future research.' [translated] – Helmuth Schneider (2023): Bryn Mawr Classical Review
ISBN: 9781803273006
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 554g
210 pages