I am pleased to announce the publication of my new book, Water Culture in Roman Society, which appears in Brill’s new series, Research Perspectives in Ancient History (2018)! Copies can be obtained through the following link. Excerpts can be found through the following link. Abstract follows below.

Water played an important part of ancient Roman life, from providing necessary drinking water, supplying bath complexes, to flowing in large-scale public fountains. The Roman culture of water was seen throughout the Roman Empire, although it was certainly not monolithic and it could come in a variety of scales and forms, based on climatic and social conditions of different areas. This article seeks to define ‘water culture’ in Roman society by examining literary, epigraphic, and archaeological evidence, while understanding modern trends in scholarship related to the study of Roman water. The culture of water can be demonstrated through expressions of power, aesthetics, and spectacle. Further there was a shared experience of water in the empire that could be expressed through religion, landscape, and water’s role in cultures of consumption and pleasure.

The volume is dedicated in memory of Garrett Fagan (1963-2017), a generous scholar of Roman history and Roman baths.