Roman Cisterns and Fountains
Directly adjacent to the outer side of the Lykourgean and Periclean fortification wall there were constructed in Roman times cisterns and fountains to meet the needs of the crowd of worshippers.
The complex of cisterns consists of four rectangular chambers built of rough stones reinforced with baked mudbricks. On the east side there have been constructed buttresses to strengthen the walls against hydrostatic pressures.
Next to the cisterns it is preserved an array of fountains which supplied the cisterns with water. The fountain complex comprises six compartments of similar masonry as the cisterns. On the east side buttresses can be seen that are preserved just a little above ground level.
The structures most probably belong to the era of emperor Hadrian (117-138 AD), along with the large underground Roman Cistern on the east side of the Large Propylaea, and are included into the program centred on the construction of hydraulic works of both large and small scale in the Sanctuary and the city of Eleusis.
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