A Spatial Network Analysis of Water Distribution from Public Fountains in Pompeii
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4540164 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Matthew Notarian (0000-0003-1845-0264, Hiram College, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 127 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 85-118 |
| Publication date | 2023-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Journal of Archaeology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-9114 • E-ISSN: 1939-828X |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1086/722233 |
| OpenAlex | W4311271582 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 37 |
The transport of water from street fountains into living spaces was tedious but essential labor that impacted the health and social integration of subelite populations, yet it remains understudied in work on Pompeii’s public water system. This article uses spatial network analysis to demographically model public fountain use at a unit-level scale. Dynamic neighborhoods are identified using least-cost routes between every external door and fountain in the city. Maximum and minimum ranges of labor and water accessibility are quantified by total daily time and energy fetching water per household, aggregate pedestrian traffic to fountains, and fountain crowding or underuse. Data are contextualized within disruptions to the water system from seismic events in the city’s final decades, the contributions of cistern and private water lines to daily needs, and comparative and primary textual evidence for the socioeconomic status and well-being of water fetchers. The results expose disproportionate inequality at the system’s peripheries, although most residents enjoyed good water access. Moreover, they reconstruct the scale of labor of marginalized sectors of Roman society that is underrepresented in textual and artistic sources, offering quantifiable comparanda for further studies on water accessibility in antiquity.1
Archaeology · Civil engineering · Fountain · Geography · Population · Socioeconomic status · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Unit (ring theory) · Demography · Engineering · Water management and technologies
Roman Aqueducts and Water Supply (Duckworth Archaeology) (Duckworth Archaeology)
Inscriptions in the Private Sphere in the Greco-Roman World
The Brothel of Pompeii
Greek and Roman Mechanical Water-Lifting Devices
Compendium of Physical Activities
Divided Consciousness and Female Companionship
The Roman Street
Modelling the freshwater supply of cisterns in ancient Greece
The supply of the public lacus of Pompeii, estimated from the discharge of their overflow channels
The Production and Distribution of Pottery at Pompeii
The Production and Distribution of Pottery at Pompeii
Estimated travel time for walking trails in natural areas
Economy of Pompeii
Roman Pompeii
Water Technology in the Middle Ages
The Traffic Systems of Pompeii
Houses and Society in Pompeii and Herculaneum
The Roman Retail Revolution
Slavery and the Roman family
Water, Wealth, and Social Status at Pompeii
Safe access to safe water in low income countries
Paving Pompeii
Somma-Vesuvian Ground Movements and the Water Supply of Pompeii and the Bay of Naples
Stallianus, a Plumber From Pompeii (And Other Remarks on Pompeian Lead Pipes)
"Using Water "Unchastely
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2025 (2) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |