Water displays in domestic spaces across the late Roman West : cultivating living buildings

Ginny Wheeler completed her PhD at the University of Bern in 2023.

For ambitious late antique homeowners seeking to demonstrate their status and taste, water and its display offered almost infinite possibilities. Water Displays in Domestic Spaces across the Late Roman West: Cultivating Living Buildings presents the first synthesis of the archaeological evidence for late antique water features in both urban houses and extra-urban villas across the western Empire. Ginny Wheeler examines a wide and varied range of examples: from decorative basins and pools to fountains of all forms to water-equipped dining couches. Through careful analysis and evocative reconstruction of the water displays in their diverse contexts, this book explores how they were incorporated into late antique residences, the different ways that they enhanced domestic spaces, and the potential motives behind their insertion.