An exploration of the relationship between shifting power, changing behaviour and new water technologies in the Roman Near East Zena Kamash Received: 1 July 2011 / Accepted: 20 January 2012 / Published online: 28 March 2012 Ó Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2012 Abstract 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, cul- turally and practically ‘fluid’. Keywords STS Á Dams Á Lead pipes Á Fountains Á Bathhouses Á Latrines Á Roman water use Introduction My aim in this article is to think about some of the ways in which people in the Near East responded and reacted (or not) to the prospect of technological change under Roman rule (63 BC–AD 636) in the Near East (Fig. 1), and in particular, to technological change involving water that might have been motivated by a distinct shift in power in the region. 1 In contrast to what one might assume, there do not seem to have been many significant wholesale changes in technology in the region with the imposition of Roman rule. This fits with, and draws inspiration from, recent explorations of the limited influence of Roman power on indigenous architectural expression in the region (most notably Ball 2000). I will Z. Kamash (&) Institute of Archaeology, 36 Beaumont St, Oxford OX1 2PG, UK e-mail: zena.kamash@arch.ox.ac.uk 1 In this article, ‘Near East’ is defined as south-east Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and the Pal- estinian Occupied Territories. Figure 1 demonstrates the boundaries of the region when Roman rule was at its greatest extent. 123 Water Hist (2012) 4:79–93 DOI 10.1007/s12685-012-0049-8