The collection of lead pipes at the Baths of Diocletian in Rome

The Baths of Diocletian (BD) in Rome, which forms part of the Museo Nazionale Romano, houses a collection of approximately 350 lead pipes (fistulae aquariae).

This collection has its roots in the Kircherian Museum, which was established in 1651 by the Jesuit father Athanasius Kircher and was initially housed in the Collegio Romano (De Ruggiero 1878: VI-XXXI). This museum, which was antiquarian in nature, was first acquired by the state after 1870. In 1913, its collections were distributed among several state museums located in Rome. The archaeological collection, which included 90 lead pipes (De Ruggiero 1878: 142-148), was transferred to the Museo Nazionale Romano, which had been established in 1890.

The collection of the BD also includes finds made by the State Superintendency in the territory of Rome, as well as objects of Latium origin.

The 82 lead pipes of Evan Gorga’s collection were intended to enrich the collection of the BD after 1950 (Barbera 1999). However, only a few of these materials have been identified thus far, and it is believed that the majority have been dispersed (Capodiferro 2013: 289-290; Pietrangeli 1951: 17-32).

The majority of lead pipes have been cut, primarily with the objective of preserving the inscribed portion, and in some cases, reduced to a lamina. In certain cases, pipes have been divided into multiple sections in order to facilitate the recovery of multiple inscriptions. It is also uncommon for the joints to be preserved. Typically, several lead pipes that originate from the same context have been stored together.

These materials have never been the subject of extensive publication, with the exception of a few pages published in the museum catalogue (Friggeri, Granino Cecere and Gregori 2012: 299, 300, 303-305, 309, 310, 322, 331, 333, 389, 391, 422-423), however, they are frequently referenced in the 15^th volume of the CIL and within important studies that have analysed the water management of ancient Rome (Eck 1982; Bruun 1991; de Kleijn 2001).

Bibliography

• Barbera, M., ed. 1999. La collezione Gorga. Museo Nazionale Romano. Milano: Electa.
• Bruun, C. 1991. The water supply of ancient Rome: a study in imperial administration. Helsinki: The Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters.
• Capodiferro, A., ed. 2013. Museo Nazionale Romano. Evan Gorga la collezione di archeologia. Milano: Electa.
• De Ruggiero, E. 1878. Catalogo del Museo Kircheriano. Roma: Salviucci.
• de Klejin, G. 2001. The water supply of ancient Rome: city, area, water and population. Amsterdam: Gieben.
• Eck, W., 1982. Die fistulae aquariae der Stadt Rom. Zum Einfluß des sozialen Status auf administratives Handeln, in Epigrafia e Ordine Senatorio, I, 197-225. Roma: Edizioni di storia e letteratura.
• Friggeri, R., Granino Cecere, M.G., Gregori, G.L., eds 2012. Terme di Diocleziano la collezione epigrafica: 2012.
• Pietrangeli, C. 1951. “Fistulae aquariae della collezione Gorga”. Epigraphica, 13: 17-32.

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