Water, Water Management, and Religion in Roman North Africa

This thesis addresses how water, and water management intersected within the cultic contexts of Roman North Africa (specifically between the 1st and 4th centuries CE). Though the utilization of cisterns, wells, aqueducts, and pipes to channel water sources was important in the daily lives of those who lived within this time and place, these uses also applied to Roman religious practices as well. This could include anything from lustrations, washing and cleaning the sanctuary grounds, preliminary purifications, or all of the above. Cults associated with water and water sources could vary, from Isis and Serapis, the gods of the Nile, to Aesclepius and his daughter Hygia, to Saturn and Caelestis. Analyzing these spaces helps to reconstruct how water played a role in ritual, and how this role may have changed over time.

My research has involved analyzing a series of sites, artifacts, statuary, inscriptions, and ornamentation in order to better understand the cultic interaction between water management and religious space within the Imperial Period. This has also involved looking backwards towards pre-existing North African cults in order to see how they may have shaped local practices. I included not only sanctuaries, shrines, and temple precincts, but also Roman baths, which often share connections with other religious sites. I utilize mapping to reconstruct the religious spaces being studied, and the systems used to either store or disburse water throughout these spaces.