The Origins Of Outdoor Fountains
The Origins Of Outdoor Fountains The incredible architecture of a fountain allows it to provide clean water or shoot water high into air for dramatic effect and it can also serve as an excellent design feature to enhance your home. Originally, fountains only served a practical purpose. Water fountains were connected to a spring or aqueduct to provide drinkable water as well as bathing water for cities, townships and villages.
Up until the 19th century, fountains had to be more elevated and closer to a water source, such as aqueducts and reservoirs, in order to benefit from gravity which fed the fountains. Fountains were an excellent source of water, and also served to decorate living areas and celebrate the designer. The main components used by the Romans to create their fountains were bronze or stone masks, mostly illustrating animals or heroes. During the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden designers included fountains in their designs to re-create the gardens of paradise. King Louis XIV of France wanted to demonstrate his superiority over nature by including fountains in the Gardens of Versailles. Seventeen and 18 century Popes sought to laud their positions by including beautiful baroque-style fountains at the point where restored Roman aqueducts arrived into the city.
Since indoor plumbing became the norm of the day for fresh, drinking water, by the end of the 19th century urban fountains were no longer needed for this purpose and they became purely ornamental. Fountains using mechanical pumps instead of gravity helped fountains to bring recycled water into living spaces as well as create unique water effects.
Modern-day fountains function mostly as decoration for community spaces, to honor individuals or events, and compliment entertainment and recreational events.
The Effect of the Norman Invasion on Anglo-Saxon Gardens
The Effect of the Norman Invasion on Anglo-Saxon Gardens
The arrival of the Normans in the latter half of the 11th century significantly modified The Anglo-Saxon ways of living. Architecture and gardening were abilities that the Normans excelled in, trumping that of the Anglo-Saxons at the time of the occupation. However the Normans had to pacify the overall territory before they could focus on home life, domestic architecture, and decoration. Castles were more fundamental constructions and often built on blustery hills, where their tenants spent both time and space to exercising offense and defense, while monasteries were considerable stone buildings, regularly positioned in the widest, most fruitful hollows. Relaxing pastimes such as gardening were out of place in these destitute citadels. The finest specimen of the early Anglo-Norman style of architecture existent presently is Berkeley Castle. The keep is rumored to have been created during the time of William the Conqueror. A large terrace intended for strolling and as a way to stop attackers from mining under the walls runs about the building. On one of these parapets is a picturesque bowling green covered in grass and bordered by an aged hedge of yew that has been designed into coarse battlements.
Ancient Crete & The Minoans: Wall Fountains
Ancient Crete & The Minoans: Wall Fountains Fountains and Water and the Minoan Civilization
In combination with offering water, they distributed water which gathered from storms or waste material. The chief components used were rock or terracotta. Terracotta was utilized for channels and pipelines, both rectangular and spherical. There are a couple of good examples of Minoan terracotta conduits, those with a shortened cone shape and a U-shape which have not been seen in any civilization since that time. Knossos Palace had an state-of-the-art plumbing system made of clay pipes which ran up to three meters below ground. The clay water lines were also made use of for amassing and storing water. Thus, these piping had to be able to: Underground Water Transportation: This particular system’s hidden nature might suggest that it was originally created for some type of ritual or to allocate water to limited communities. Quality Water Transportation: Considering the data, several scholars advocate that these pipelines were not hooked up to the common water delivery system, supplying the residence with water from a various source.