When were water fountains created

We commonly see fountains in public parks or even palaces and government institutions. While fountains are often largely decorative, they have important symbolic values, such as the city of Rome and its Trevi Fountain. Since their inception, fountains have awed us as a way humans have controlled an important element of life, that being water. Today, this symbolism has not changed very much from its ancient roots.

Early Developments

Perhaps the earliest fountains date to the beginnings of urbanism, around 3000 BCE, and early palace and garden decoration, often associated with sacred, religious areas where gardens had important religious meaning. Fountains were developed in southern Mesopotamia, modern Iraq, where a series of basins were utilized that likely tapped water from irrigation networks and canals nearby. Gods, such as Ea, were associated with water, thus fountains were made to represent water flowing out from the god. In the palace of Mari, from around 1800 BCE, a fountain of a goddess has been found and, in many ways, similar to much later fountains, where she holds a vase that then has water flowing out. Ancient Egypt may have had similar fountains, although relatively little has been depicted of ancient fountains there.

As gardens developed with improved water technologies by the early 1st millennium BCE, more elaborate fountains and gardens were created, such as at Nineveh in northern Iraq. Aqueducts were now introduced and later Greeks began adopting this technology. However, what differed from Mesopotamia is that rather than using fountains as royal or religious architecture specifically, fountains began to have a more civic meaning. For instance, at Athens, the sixth century BCE ruler Peisistratos built Enneacrounos, which became a symbol for the city. The name for this fountain means nine spouts, suggesting a large fountain with nine spouts. Its place in the agora of Athens suggest it was intended to be a public feature, although to this day the feature has not been found. Most likely, the fountain utilized a nearby natural spring to feed it, thus it may have also had a practical purpose in providing water for Athenians. Thus, while fountains became adorned as public symbols of cities, they also served as potentially practically useful water springs. The Athenian fountain, along with those from Mesopotamia and others, likely used gravity flow and pressure to have water come out. It is not clear if water coming out ws always recycled or how this would have been done.

In ancient Rome, evidence from Pompeii and Rome itself indicate that houses and a variety of public fountains were provided by an elaborate water network that brought water into the cities using aqueducts, including wealthy homes that often had private fountains. Fountains provided drinking water as well as decoration for the city and wealth alike. There were at least 39 monumental fountains in Rome, which were fed by the city's nine aqueducts. Water pumps powered by wind were now utilized in many cities in the Mediterranean, including Alexandria and Rome.

Medieval and Renaissance Developments

The tradition of fountains in the Middle East never went away after the arrival of Islam in the early Medieval period. In fact, gardens and fountains became more elaborate. Fountains became part of what conceptually represented paradise in Islam. This is similar to the ancient Persian concept, where the word paradise derives from gardens. Pumps now were utilized, including wind-powered pumps similar to those developed by Greek engineers in the Classical period. Underground channels and pipes helped to pressurize and distribute water within enclosed areas, while pumps helped to circulate water around gardens. Fountains now also became designed so that water would come out forming different shapes. Siphoned water, where the world siphon derives from a Persian word, appear to have been developed to allow water to come out similar to natural springs. Fountains were designed as part of the irrigation network for gardens, where water would be brought out of fountains and distributed to a variety of trees and plants growing in palatial gardens. Ritual washing has for thousands of years been associated with religious activity. by the Islamic period, however, fountains now were placed in public areas so that worshipers could use them to wash before performing their prayers.

By the 15th century in Europe, classical revival helped instigate interest in fountains, particularly in Rome. Public fountains were recreated, often stylized similar to Roman fountains, while pleasure gardens were created, often inspired by Roman gardens. The Medici family used fountains in Florence as symbols of their power and civic pride, where they commissioned the Fountain of Neptune in 1565 that symbolized the family's power. It was the city's first public fountain and gave it the first continually running water supply, whereas it had previously depended on cisterns or wells for its water. Both in Europe and Middle East, fountains were seen as ways for wealthy patrons or rulers as ways in which they can provide their cities with drinking water. Fountains, for many urban neighborhoods, became the chief water supply while also helping these wealthy or powerful patrons to be seen in more positive light.