The Genesis Of Fountains
The Genesis Of Fountains A water fountain is an architectural piece that pours water into a basin or jets it high into the air in order to supply drinkable water, as well as for decorative purposes.
From the beginning, outdoor fountains were simply there to serve as functional elements. People in cities, towns and villages received their drinking water, as well as water to bathe and wash, via aqueducts or springs in the vicinity. Up to the late 19th century, water fountains had to be near an aqueduct or reservoir and higher than the fountain so that gravity could make the water flow down or shoot high into the air. Serving as an element of decoration and celebration, fountains also generated clean, fresh drinking water. Animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks were often times used by Romans to beautify their fountains. Muslims and Moorish landscaping designers of the Middle Ages included fountains to re-create smaller versions of the gardens of paradise. To show his prominence over nature, French King Louis XIV included fountains in the Garden of Versailles. The Romans of the 17th and 18th centuries created baroque decorative fountains to exalt the Popes who commissioned them as well as to mark the location where the restored Roman aqueducts entered the city.
Indoor plumbing became the key source of water by the end of the 19th century thereby restricting urban fountains to mere decorative elements. Gravity was replaced by mechanical pumps in order to permit fountains to bring in clean water and allow for beautiful water displays.
Modern-day fountains serve mostly as decoration for open spaces, to honor individuals or events, and compliment entertainment and recreational events.
Fountains And Their Use In Crete & Minoa
Fountains And Their Use In Crete & Minoa Fountains and Water and the Minoan Civilization These were made use of to provide towns and cities with water as well as to lessen flooding and eliminate waste material. They were for the most part created from clay or stone.
Terracotta was selected for channels and water pipes, both rectangle-shaped and spherical. Among these were clay conduits which were U shaped or a shortened, cone-like shape which have exclusively appeared in Minoan society. Knossos Palace had a sophisticated plumbing system made of terracotta pipes which ran up to three meters below ground. The piping also had other functions such as amassing water and diverting it to a central place for storage. To make this conceivable, the piping had to be fashioned to handle: Below ground Water Transportation: This particular system’s unseen nature may suggest that it was originally created for some kind of ritual or to distribute water to limited groups. Quality Water Transportation: Given the evidence, a number of historians suggest that these conduits were not linked to the common water allocation process, supplying the palace with water from a distinctive source.