Imperial Water: Fountains as an Expression of British Colonial Control in Cyprus in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

Summary

This is an abstract from the "World-Systems and Globalization in Archaeology: Assessing Models of Intersocietal Connections 50 Years since Wallerstein’s “The Modern World-System”" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

As part of the ethnoarchaeological component of the Athienou Archaeological Project (AAP), a team has conducted a survey of the public drinking fountains built in the town of Athienou in central Cyprus during the British colonial period. The research accompanies other field investigations to create a holistic examination of the community situated at the southern end of the Mesaoria, a fertile agricultural plain in the heart of the island. The semiarid summer climate makes access to water a major concern of the residents of Athienou. A number of public fountains scattered throughout the town are a remnant of the British colonial presence in the twentieth century. Since 2016, an AAP team has recorded all of the extant fountains and several preserved ceramic water lines, and examined plans held by the director of the town’s physical plant. The fountains reflect an effort to enhance a vital public service while simultaneously leaving an imperial imprint to clearly mark their origin. The features can be seen as the effort of a core to demonstrate the benefits of colonial status.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• World-Systems and Globalization in Archaeology: Assessing Models of Intersocietal Connections 50 Years since Wallerstein’s “The Modern World-System”   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38682.0