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Focusing on the case studies of the Fountain of Anna Perenna and the Grove of Furrina in Rome, I explore how these once state-sanctioned, religious sites became associated with ‘magical’ practices and chthonic mystery cult rites in the fourth century ad. Rather than representing a break with traditional Roman religion, evidence of place-making activities at these sites demonstrates a continuity of religious memory. The liminal character of spring waters, which flowed above and below the earth’s surface, contributed to the ancient Roman narratives that characterized certain springs as gateways to the underworld. This ascription of liminality to sacred springs, in turn, created appropriate sites for local inhabitants to perform binding rituals within the urban landscape and transformed city springs into sacred places where the living communicated with infernal deities.
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