Early Crete & The Minoans: Fountains
Early Crete & The Minoans: Fountains On the Greek island of Crete, digs have discovered channels of several kinds. They not merely aided with the water supply, they extracted rainwater and wastewater as well. They were commonly built from terracotta or rock. Terracotta was utilized for channels and water pipes, both rectangular and round. There are two illustrations of Minoan clay piping, those with a shortened cone form and a U-shape which haven’t been caught in any society since. Knossos Palace had a sophisticated plumbing network made of clay piping which ran up to three meters under ground. The water pipes also had other uses including collecting water and channeling it to a primary place for storing.
Modern Garden Decor: Outdoor Fountains and their Beginnings

From the beginning, outdoor fountains were soley there to serve as functional elements. People in cities, towns and villages received their drinking water, as well as water to bathe and wash, from aqueducts or springs nearby. Until the late 19th, century most water fountains operated using the force of gravity to allow water to flow or jet into the air, therefore, they needed a supply of water such as a reservoir or aqueduct located higher than the fountain. Designers thought of fountains as wonderful additions to a living space, however, the fountains also served to provide clean water and honor the artist responsible for building it. Bronze or stone masks of animals and heroes were commonly seen on Roman fountains. During the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden designers included fountains in their designs to mimic the gardens of paradise. Fountains enjoyed a considerable role in the Gardens of Versailles, all part of French King Louis XIV’s desire to exercise his power over nature. The Romans of the 17th and 18th centuries manufactured baroque decorative fountains to glorify the Popes who commissioned them as well as to mark the location where the restored Roman aqueducts entered the city.
Urban fountains built at the end of the nineteenth served only as decorative and celebratory adornments since indoor plumbing provided the essential drinking water. Fountains using mechanical pumps instead of gravity enabled fountains to deliver recycled water into living spaces as well as create special water effects.
Embellishing city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the functions of modern-day fountains.