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Hierapolis Nymphaeum of the Tritons
About
One of the longest monumental fountains in the Roman world, stretching 60 meters along the colonnaded main street. An inscription on its architrave dates it firmly to the reign of Severus Alexander, around 222 to 235 CE, roughly a century after Trajan's death. It replaced whatever more modest water feature stood on Frontinus Street in 117 CE.
What happened here
This is where most of the town gets its water, and it runs continuously because the aqueduct cannot be switched off. A basin catches the flow, jars are filled from spouts, and the overflow goes into a channel that flushes the street. Queues form early and the fountain is where the neighbourhood's news circulates. The stonework wears into grooves where thousands of hands and rope have rested on the rim. Animals drink at a lower trough. Bigger show-fountains at street corners and road junctions are put up by magistrates and carry their names; the water is the gift and the inscription is the receipt. Blocking, fouling or tapping a public fountain is an offence people are actually prosecuted for.
Sources
Nearby
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Roman Maps shows the empire frozen at 11 August 117 CE, the day Trajan died — its moment of greatest territorial extent. Explore the full map →