An exploration of the relationship between shifting power, changing behaviour and new water technologies in the Roman Near East

In this article, I examine the changes in water technology that occurred in the Near East during the Roman and late Roman periods (63 bc–ad 636). I argue, in particular, that the impact of Roman occupation in the Near East was not one of simple imposition of technology on the inhabitants of the Near East. This argument is defended by drawing on the analysis of the modern uptake of technologies in science and technology studies (STS) and by examining a selection of different technologies in the Roman Near East, including dams, pipelines, fountains, bathhouses and latrines. Through this exploration I demonstrate that several social, cultural and pragmatic factors can be seen to be at play and conclude that the most successful technological introductions were those that were socially, culturally and practically ‘fluid’.