In the late 1880s, excavations near the Aqua Marcia aqueduct and the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem turned up a series of lead water pipes stamped with an unusual name. They identified the owner of this Roman domus as one Aufidia Cornelia Valentinilla, a figure otherwise unknown, but one whose household plumbing ensured a kind of posthumous fame.
The domus itself, typical of its era, would have belonged to a wealthy urban family. Roman houses of this sort were inward-facing, arranged around a central atrium or peristyle, with rooms for dining, sleeping, and receiving clients. The presence of private lead pipes suggests a direct connection to a public aqueduct, a privilege not universally granted. Such a residence was a statement of status as much as a home.
Today, the site is fragmentary: foundations, wall remnants, and those crucial pipes. The building’s true scale and decoration remain conjectural. Still, the name on the metalwork, Aufidia Cornelia Valentinilla, survives as a faint, elegant echo of a life lived in imperial Rome, preserved not by marble or epic verse, but by a supply of running water.
Description via source. Coordinates and heritage data from the Atika atlas.
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