DOCSLIB.ORG

Qanat: a Sustainable Groundwater Supply System

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Qanat: a Sustainable Groundwater Supply System ResearchOnline@JCU This file is part of the following reference: Habashiani, Rasoul (2011) Qanat: a sustainable groundwater supply system. Masters (Research) thesis, James Cook University. Access to this file is available from: http://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/32126/ The author has certified to JCU that they have made a reasonable effort to gain permission and acknowledge the owner of any third party copyright material included in this document. If you believe that this is not the case, please contact [email protected] and quote http://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/32126/ Qanat: A Sustainable Groundwater Supply System Thesis submitted by Rasoul Habashiani BA in February 2011 for the degree of Master of Social Science (Anthropology) in the School of Arts and Social Science James Cook University 1 Candidate’s declaration This thesis contains no material that has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university. To the best of the author’s knowledge, it contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference is made in the text. Rasoul Habashiani February 2011 2 Contents List of Figures 6 List of Plates 6 List of Maps 6 Acknowledgements 7 Abstract 8-9 Chapter Outline • Chapter 1: Introduction 10 • Research questions and aims • Chapter 2: Discussion of methods 14 • Ecological anthropology and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) studies: theoretical frameworks and conceptual underpinnings • Criticisms of ecological anthropology • Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) studies • Criticisms of TEK • Applicability of qualitative methods to ethno-ecological research • Specific qualitative concepts: contextual and interpretive approach • Chapter 3: Literature Review: Approaches to the traditional water systems across the globe 36 • Introduction • Section 1: A brief comparative review of the ethnohydrological systems across the globe • Section 2: comprehensive and in-depth analysis of three water systems Lansing’s studies on the Balinese water system 3 The case of Stour Valley in England A traditional irrigation system in a highland community of Peru • Comparative discussion • Chapter 4: Qanats and the Iranian Ethnohydrology 71 • Different approaches to Qanat studies: shortage of holistic and anthropological investigations • The medieval rural society of Iran as the wider context of the Qanat system • A typical Qanat system: Second level of the Qanat system: techno-physical structure of Qanat The third level of the Qanat system: Boneh as the social structure of Qanat Level four: Qanat marriage as a sample of the Qanat-related rituals • Chapter 5: Modernisation of water management in Iran 96 • The White Revolution and Land Reform Law as the wider contexts of the Western-orientated water paradigm in Iran • The replacement process of Qanats with deep wells • Creation of the new cooperatives as alternatives to the Boneh system • Comparison: technical and social assessment of the impacts of the changes • General social impacts of the land reform law and the modern cooperatives • Negative impacts of the land reform law on water management • Agricultural policies and institutional measures after the 1979 Revolution • Current institutional arrangements in rural areas 4 • Chapter 6: Argument and Analysis 117 • Qanat-related conclusions: the division between the Qanat system and its alternatives Traditional water paradigm in Iran (first part of the division) Different levels of the modern water paradigm in Iran (second part of the division) • The tension of sustainable unequal system with the modern system of egalitarian agriculture • Chapter 7: General Conclusions 130 • A worldwide division between traditional and modern water paradigms • Traditional paradigm: first part of the worldwide distinction Advantages and disadvantages of TEK systems • Modern water paradigm as the second part of a universal distinction • Chapter 8: Recommendations 140 • Some considerations about applying traditional water management to modern contexts • Characteristics of a co-management model • Recommendations based on the Qanat system Glossary 147 Bibliography 148 5 List of Figures 1 Qanat’s basic physical structure 2 Diagram of the four levels of TEK systems List of Plates 1 The Shah speaks to people about principles of White Revolution, 1963 2 The Shah distributing land deeds List of Maps 1. Distribution of Qanats in the World 2. Iran’s rainfall distribution map 3. Distribution of Qanats in Iran 4. Realm of Boneh in Iran 6 Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude to the following people who helped make this research possible. I want to thank Dr. Marcus Barber, my first principal supervisor, Dr. Michael Wood, my co-supervisor from Cairns, Dr. Robin Rodd my third supervisor and Dr. Rosita Henry former head of Anthropology, Archaeology, and Sociology Department of James Cook University. Special thanks to Dr Elizabeth Tynan, co-ordinator of research student academic support at the JCU Graduate Research School for her editorial help. Thanks also to Dr Alison Cottrell, my research monitor, for her support and feedback during my study. Finally, I would like to give my thanks to my family for their support. 7 Abstract Qanat is an ancient Iranian groundwater supply system which has diffused to numerous areas outside of Iran as well. In addition to its eco-friendly techno-physical structure, the Qanat system includes many socio-institutional and ritual dimensions such as Boneh and Qanat marriage rites. The present research reviews the current literature on the Qanat system to investigate the impacts of technical, socio- institutional, and intellectual/ritual aspects of the Qanat system on water resources. This traditional system has been replaced with inefficient technologies and rural institutions through a countrywide change during the 1960s. By including the process of water management modernisation in Iran, a comparative assessment of Qanat and its modern alternatives will become part of this study too. In this way, my research can indicate while the integrated sociocultural and technological system of Qanat sustainably provided water for millennia, contemporary water management systems have been demonstrated to be unsustainable. I draw on a conceptual framework which derives from ecological anthropology and Traditional Ecological Knowledge studies (referred to as “TEK studies” in this research). These approaches provide the most applicable conceptual framework for my project because of their involvement in natural resource management. Moreover, some qualitative research concepts, for instance contextual analysis, are used for understanding the functions of the Qanat system as a sociocultural process. Also, I apply a literature review approach to examine some comparative traditional water systems across the world, together with the process of their replacement with contemporary modern paradigms. The literature review chapter can reveal that the current institutional arrangements of water management suffer from similar problems in many countries. By investigating the collapse of other traditional water systems, I argue that the socio-technical shift of water management in Iran originates from a worldwide transformation in the twentieth century. Based on the study of the Qanat system and other cases, I identify a worldwide distinction between traditional and modern water paradigm. This division framework is useful to categorise and compare opposing socio-technical beliefs and practices of two traditional and modern paradigms. By use of this division, the ways in which the Western-oriented paradigms mismanage water can be discovered more comprehensively. Using the above range of methods and approaches, my study of Qanat intends to fill a considerable gap in the Qanat literature which results from the 8 dominance of the engineering discourses. I employ the above ideas, concepts, and frameworks to argue that the modern alternatives of local paradigms have been unsuccessful at incorporating local communities into water issues. This means that there is a need to move beyond the mainstream quantitative and technology-centred water management which has divided a holistic body into disconnected elements. My research also suggests some avenues for applying the Qanat system in modern contexts in terms of local communities’ engagement in the water management process. In brief, this research can be described as a study of the causes and consequences of the water mismanagement crisis at the Iranian and global scale. 9 Chapter 1: Introduction The water crisis is one of the most serious environmental problems currently facing the planet. It is estimated that by the year 2020, two-thirds of the world’s population will be living in countries with water problems (WBCSD, 2005). The UN estimates that water shortages will affect half the world’s population by 2025 (Strang, 2006). We face a worldwide water shortage that is historically unprecedented. Each year underground water tables are falling and the wells are drying up (Brown, 2007). Iran, having overpumped by an average of 5 billion tons of water per year (IRNCID, 1998), is among many countries over-extracting water from aquifers. Drying Qanats have forced villagers to migrate, creating a wave of “water refugees”in eastern Iran and undermining food production. These problems suggest that modern water management techniques have gone astray and that advanced engineering has not solved the world’s water problems (Postel, 2003). Many believe that
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Out of Water Civilizations Emerge Focus on Pre-Islamic Persian Empires
    INFLUENCE OF WATER MANAGEMENT ON EMPIRES 1 Out of Water Civilizations Emerge Focus on Pre-Islamic Persian Empires Festival of the Passing of the Ice Dragon 8 April 2017 Pentathlon Entry - Literary Arts Research Paper INFLUENCE OF WATER MANAGEMENT ON EMPIRES 2 Abstract Water or the lack of it has the power to create or destroy empires. From prehistory to the current time period this has been shown to be true. The civilizations who have been able to harness water, transport it and conserve it are the societies that have risen to power. The Persian Empires, from the earliest to the last, were masters of water husbandry. They developed an underground transport system called qanats that enabled them to become one of the greatest empires the world has ever seen. Not only has their knowledge of water transport enabled the irrigation of fields, it provided water for domestic purposes in their homes, to air- condition their homes and allowed the use of sewage systems which helped to keep disease at bay. INFLUENCE OF WATER MANAGEMENT ON EMPIRES 3 Out of Water Civilizations Emerge – Focus on Pre-Islamic Persian Empires Water has controlled the rise and fall of great empires. Rome became a great power when it was able to harvest the water from the Mediterranean Sea, China’s Golden Age developed after the completion of the 1100 mile long Grand Canal for transport of goods and irrigation. Domination of the oceans by the Vikings gave rise to their success. Civilizations are driving by the way in which they respond to the challenges of their environment.
    [Show full text]
  • Innovating Irrigation Technologies –
    Innovating irrigation technologies – Four communities in the Southeastern Arabian Iron Age II 1 Sources of pictures (clockwise): Picture 1: Al-Tikriti 2010, 231 Picture 2: Cordoba and Del Cerro 2018, 95 Picture 3 : Charbonnier et al. 2017, 18 Picture 4: Map created by Anna Lipp, © WAJAP (www.wajap.nl) Contact details: Anna Lipp Hoge Rijndijk 94L 2313 KL Leiden [email protected] 0049 172 762 9184 2 Innovating irrigation technologies - Four communities in the Southeastern Arabian Iron Age II Innovating irrigation technologies. Four communities in the Southeastern Arabian Iron Age II. Anna Lipp MA Thesis Course and course code: MA thesis Archaeology, 4ARX-0910ARCH Supervisor: Dr. Bleda S. Düring Archaeology of the Near East University of Leiden, Faculty of Archaeology Leiden, 12.6.2019 final version 3 Table of contents Acknowlegdements p.4 Glossary p.5 I. Introduction and research questions p.6 II. Region and cultural history p.9 II.1 Geology p.9 II.2 Paleoclimate on the Arabian Peninsula p.11 II.3 Early Arabian Archaeology p.12 II.4 Iron Age Chronologies p.12 II.5 Settlement boom p.15 II.6 Settlement outlines p.18 II.7 Houses p.19 II.8 Columned rooms p.20 II.9 Subsistence activities and trade p.22 II.10 Pottery p.24 III. Theory and examples of irrigation systems, debates in Arabian Archaeology and methodology p.28 III.1 Theoretical approaches to irrigation p.28 III.2 Groundwater irrigation: wells for irrigation purposes p.30 III.3 Qanat-type falaj systems p.34 III.4 Gharrag falaj p.35 III.5 Ground- or surface water irrigation: Runoff irrigation p.36 III.6 Transporting water: mills p.37 III.7 Collecting water: cisterns p.39 III.8 Debates in Arabian Archaeology p.40 III.9 Methodology p.44 IV.
    [Show full text]
  • Peter Magee Department of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology Bryn Mawr College 101 North Merion Avenue Bryn Mawr PA 19010 USA
    1 November 2016 Professor Peter Magee Department of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology Bryn Mawr College 101 North Merion Avenue Bryn Mawr PA 19010 USA EDUCATION 1992-1996: PhD., Cultural Variability, Change and Settlement in Southeastern Arabia, 1300-300 B.C. University of Sydney. 1987-1990: B.A. (Honours Class 1). University of Sydney. APPOINTMENTS Current: Chair and Professor, Department of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology, Bryn Mawr College Current: Director, Middle Eastern Studies Program, Bryn Mawr College. 2010-2012: Special Assistant to the President of Bryn Mawr College on International Education Initiatives 2006–2013: Associate Professor, Department of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology, Bryn Mawr College. 2002-2006: Assistant Professor, Department of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology, Bryn Mawr College. 1998-2001:U2000 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Archaeology, University of Sydney. 1997: Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Research Fellow, Department of Near Eastern Archaeology and Languages, University of Gent, Belgium. 1996: Visiting Lecturer, Department of Archaeology, University of New England, Australia. 1992-1995: Associate Lecturer, Department of Archaeology, University of Sydney. 1995: Museum Assistant, Nicholson Museum, University of Sydney. FIELD EXPERIENCE 1994-Current: Director, Excavations at Muweilah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, 2007-Current: Director, Excavations at Tell Abraq and Hamriyah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, 1997-2001: co-Director with the British Museum, Excavations at Akra, Pakistan. 1994: Survey Director, Russian Excavations at Qana, Yemen. 1989-1993: Student participation in excavations in Australia, Greece, Jordan, Syria and the UAE. RESEARCH AWARDS AND GRANTS 2014: Research Funding Agreement with the Government of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates for excavations at Muweilah and Tell Abraq: Contribution to cover costs of excavation etc.
    [Show full text]
  • Syrian Qanat Romani: History, Ecology, Abandonment
    Journal of Arid Environments (1996) 33: 321–336 Syrian qanat Romani: history, ecology, abandonment Dale R. Lightfoot Department of Geography, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078, U.S.A. (Received 21 April 1995, accepted 10 July 1995) Syrian qanat Romani (subterranean aqueducts) were studied as part of a broader project examining the role of qanats in a modern world. Fieldwork was designed to: (1) produce a comprehensive map showing the location and current status of all Syrian qanats; (2) determine the relationship between qanat sites, ancient settlements, and ecological zones; and (3) evaluate the degree to which modern water technology has displaced qanat systems and assess the impact of these changes on Syria’s ground-water resources. A map showing the distribution and status of qanats across Syria presents a picture of widespread abandonment of recently desiccated qanats, implicating ground-water depletion and underscoring the need for coordinated and sustainable aquifer management in Syria. ©1996 Academic Press Limited Keywords: qanets; Syria; aquifers; water resources; ground-water Introduction New and often rapacious water technologies have all but replaced traditional irrigation systems in the Middle East, aggravating an impending water crisis and further complicating regional water compacts in an already politically complex region. ‘Out with the old and in with the new’ is, however, the inevitable outcome in a region that is modernizing its modes of production and geometrically multiplying its population. Traditional, lower-impact irrigation technologies can no longer support the region’s rapidly burgeoning numbers of people. Yet newer technologies — especially ground- water pumping devices — cannot for long keep pace with rising water needs, and may instead deplete now viable aquifers and preclude their use even for lower-impact traditional irrigation.
    [Show full text]
  • The Foggara in the Arab World
    Geographia Technica, No. 1, 2012, pp. 1 to 7 THE FOGGARA IN THE ARAB WORLD Remini BOUALEM1, Kechad RABAH2 ABSTRACT: The Arab world is located in the northern hemisphere between the equator and the Tropic of Cancer in the hyper-arid regions and arid planet. In this environment hostile to life, the Arabs have developed the technical to develop foggara oases on the passage of caravans and trade. Foggaras about 4200 are in operation today on a number 11500 dug in 16 Arab countries. The Sultanate of Oman tops Arab countries concerning the use of this technical. 3017 aflaj be involved in the irrigation of gardens in many oases of Oman. Algeria, with 903 functional foggaras is ranked second. Over 150 khettara are still operating in the region Tafilalt, Morocco is in third place. About 30 qanats Romani are still functional in the oases of Syria. Water flows again in a few tens of qanats throughout Yemen, Saudi Arabia, its UAE, Jordan and Tunisia. The foggaras are off and abandoned in Iraq. Remains and traces of foggaras have been identified in ancient oases of Libya and Egypt. Keywords: Arid, Arab Countries, Foggara, Oasis, Water. 1. INTRODUCTION The territory of the Arab world is localized in the drylands of the world, in which are combined with low rainfall and high temperatures. To compensate for the lack of rainfall, the Arabs have developed an original technique of water extraction from underground to fertilize the soil and adjust the oases. The technique is known in Algeria in the name of the foggara of khettara Morocco from falaj the Sultanate of Oman, the kriga Tunisia, Ain Saudi Arabia, qanat Romani Jordan and Syria .
    [Show full text]
  • Evaluation of Qanat Collapse Hazard in Mashhad City (Case Study: the Zone 11 of Municipality of Mashhad, Iran)
    The 1 st International Applied Geological Congress, Department of Geology, Islamic Azad University - Mashad Branch, Iran, 26-28 April 2010 Evaluation of Qanat Collapse Hazard in Mashhad City (Case study: the zone 11 of municipality of Mashhad, Iran) Fahimeh Salehi1, Mohammad Ghafoori2, Golamreza Lashkaripour3, Naser Hafezi Moghadas4 1: M.Sc. Student of Engineering Geology, Faculty of Earth Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad E-mail address: [email protected] 2, 3: Professor of Engineering Geology, Faculty of Earth Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. 4: Associate Professor of Engineering Geology, Faculty of Earth Science, Shahrood University of Technology. Abstract Mashhad city has been developed in recent decades. The development of the city towards the routes used to be qanat well is one of the problems that Mashhad city is confronted. Today many of the qanats are under urban areas. These qanats become dry little by little because of successive droughts, developing of the city and drilling deep wells In order to supply water. Contemporary of developing the city, the qanats are filled with earth fill soils uncontrollably and this problem causes ground settlement, cracks and fissures in the ground and consequently damages of buildings and also cracking in the system of water supply. This problem is doubled in west areas of the city because of high buildings and high abundance of qanats in those areas. This paper deals with the main factors that cause qanat collapse. First of all the exact location of the qanats in the zone11 of municipality of Mashhad was studied. Then the main factors that influence the stability and performance of qanats were determined.
    [Show full text]
  • English and Persian Language and They Were Made Available to Interested Audiences
    Islamic Republic of Iran Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism & Handicrafts MCTH Risk Management Plan of the Persian Qanat World Heritage Site UNESCO World Heritage Convention Tehran 2019 In the name of God Introduction Held from 10th to 21st July 2016 in Istanbul (Turkey), the 40th UNESCO Conference approved of inscribing Persian Qanats (No. 1506) due to satisfaction of third and fourth criterion. This includes 11 Qanats located in different geographical regions of Iran and a water management system with advanced underground structures and channels for transferring water from mountains to arid areas of the country. Qanat are cultural-natural sites consisting of different types of natural factors such as water resources, topography of natural ground, and certain species of animals and plants as well as diverse traditions, customs and events. The Qanat are still operating due to persistence of their traditional management and they play a significant role in sustainable economic developments, persistence of local rural and urban life, and promotion of agricultural activity and development of infrastructure. At the moment, it is estimated that there are more than 37.000 Qanats in Iran out of which 11 Qanats have been inscribed on the World Heritage List. These Qanats are located in Khorasan, Yazd, Markazi, Isfahan and Kerman provinces which are significant due to their different aspects of technology as well as geographical, cultural and socio-economic innovations. In Iran, Qanat have played a significant role in development of society as they were the cornerstone of development and boom of cities and villages in desserts and most of agricultural and industrial activities were established around these Qanats.
    [Show full text]
  • The Persian Qanat
    Additional information received by ICOMOS A letter was sent by ICOMOS to the State Party on 22 The Persian Qanat September 2015 requesting additional information on the (Islamic Republic of Iran) serial approach, integrity in terms of non-inclusion of agricultural settlements and whether there was an No 1506 inventory of the associated structures. A response was received from the State Party on 5 November 2015 and the information has been incorporated below. Following a meeting with representatives of the State Party on 1 December 2015 and the submission of the ICOMOS’ Official name as proposed by the State Party interim report on 15 December 2015 the State Party The Persian Qanat provided further additional information regarding the selection and justification of sites, boundaries and integrity Location on 26 February 2016, which has been incorporated below. Khorasan-e Razavi, Khorasan-e Jonubi, Esfahan, Yazd, Markazi and Kerman Provinces Islamic Republic of Iran Date of ICOMOS approval of this report 11 March 2016 Brief description Throughout the arid regions of Iran, agricultural and permanent settlements are supported by the ancient 2 The property qanat system of tapping alluvial aquifers at the heads of valleys and conducting the water along underground Description of the Serial Nomination tunnels by gravity, often over many kilometres. Shaft The nominated property comprises eleven serial wells providing access and ventilation to the tunnels properties (eleven qanats). A qanat comprises an almost appear as craters from above, following the line of the horizontal tunnel collecting water from an underground qanat from water source to agricultural settlement. The water source, usually an alluvial fan, into which a mother eleven qanats representing this system include rest well is sunk to the appropriate level of the aquifer.
    [Show full text]
  • The Khettara Water Management Ancient Techniques Promoted in Morocco T R A
    THE KHETTARA WATER MANAGEMENT ANCIENT TECHNIQUES PROMOTED IN MOROCCO T R A By Lydia PeroniD I The Pavilion of Morocco at Expo 2015 is T promoting the Khettara water management traditional techniques, rescued in different I Oasis of the country. O The Khettaras (or foggaras) are a N succession of wells linked by underground canals going to the fields. The canals A should provide enough water for upstream L palm groves ensuring enough for those downstream, according to the tradition and the water rights prescribed by ancestral W contracts. Artificial lakes are also created to store water for cattle and for years with I water shortage. S The khettara or foggara represents an D ancient sophisticated technique which enables underground water resources to be tapped for irrigation. O Actually this method dates back thousands of years and M has been adopted over a very large area stretching from China to Spain, throughout Persia and as far as Latin America. Water systems like these are known with different names: khettara or foggara of the Sahara desert F qanat or kariz of Persia, falaz of Arabia, and the madrjirat O of Andalusia. The first documented inscriptions of the qanat date back to the 7th century BC. In the R Mediterranean, the qanat originating from the Persians (today’s Iran), has spread over the Middle East and North S semi-arid and arid regions, including Morocco. U The Khettara system taps the groundwater table by means of a nearly horizontal tunnel which is dug over a S long distance (normally 4-8 km but can reach even 15 km T in length!).
    [Show full text]
  • The Qanat in Spain: Archaeology and Environment
    Christopher Gerrard and Alejandra Gutiérrez The Qanat in Spain: Archaeology and Environment Summary This article defines the elements of qanat technology in Spain and describes some recent projects which have advanced our understanding. A brief bibliography is provided that ex- poses some of the confusion surrounding classification, nomenclature, numbers, and distri- bution of the qanat. Some examples taken from recent fieldwork illustrate the complexities and show how different elements of hydraulic technology are combined. Hydraulic features at Citruénigo (Navarre), Bureta, Bulbuente and Daroca (all Aragón), Madrid, and Toledo (Castile-La Mancha) are all described. Finally, the paper focuses on recent research into dat- ing these features and highlights a recently completed project that dated episodes of con- struction and maintenance using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). This technique seems to offer significant potential for future research. Keywords: qanat; medieval archaeology; optically stimulated luminescence; hydraulic archaeology Dieser Artikel definiert die Elemente der qanat-Technologie in Spanien und beschreibt ei- nige neuere Projekte, die unser Verständnis dort vorangebracht haben. Es wird eine kurze Bibliographie vorgelegt, die einige der Verwirrungen um die Klassifikation, Nomenklatur, Zahlen und Verteilung der qanat offenlegt. Einige Beispiele aus der jüngsten Feldforschung verdeutlichen die Komplexität der Anlagen und zeigen, wie unterschiedliche Elemente der hydraulischen Technologie kombiniert werden. Hydraulische Merkmale bei Citruéni- go (Navarra), Bureta, Bulbuente und Daroca (alle Aragón), Madrid, Toledo (Kastilien-La Mancha) werden beschrieben. Schließlich werden jüngste Forschungen zur Datierung der qanats diskutiert und ein kürzlich abgeschlossenes Projekt vorgestellt, in dem Bauphasen und Phasen der Instandhaltung mittels Optisch Stimulierter Luminiszenz (OSL) datiert wurden. Diese Technik scheint ein erhebliches Potenzial für die Zukunft zu bieten.
    [Show full text]
  • “QANATS in the ACHAEMENID PERIOD” the Modest, but Nicely Produced, Volume by B
    537 “QANATS IN THE ACHAEMENID PERIOD” 538 whether the great kings of Persia may have had an influence in their construction and use. Prof. Briant introduces the vol- ume and provides us with the first discussion concerning a significant passage from Polybius (X, 28). While this text relates to evidence of a subterranean water system found dur- ing the Seleucid period, it is thought to have been constructed by the Achaemenid kings. Briant examines in detail how this text may provide significant information on the formation of qanats, but he also wisely limits the potential support it can show. The volume follows with a series of chapters detailing the water collection systems found elsewhere in the ancient Near East of the 1st millennium BC. One additional feature provided by the publisher is a location URL on the Thot-M web page where the photographs of the volume are given in color (where applicable). The chapter that follows Briant’s discussion has D. Knoepfler discussing a Greek contract dealing with drainage of lake marsh land and its effect on land improvement. This includes a discussion by T. Chatelain on several lexical terms found in that contract, especially the usage of hyponomos (subterranean gallery). No translation of this contract is offered here, only a portion of the Greek transcription. M. Wuttmann then provides an in depth analysis of the French excavation at Ain-Manâwir, located in Kharga Oasis, Egypt. His presentation provides information on the excavations, the water geology of that oasis, a description of the site, the dat- able occupation levels, and the location and dating of several qanats (usage from the 5th century BC through beginning of the 3rd century AD).
    [Show full text]
  • Qanat Knowledge Ali Asghar Semsar Yazdi • Majid Labbaf Khaneiki
    Qanat Knowledge Ali Asghar Semsar Yazdi • Majid Labbaf Khaneiki Qanat Knowledge Construction and Maintenance Ali Asghar Semsar Yazdi Majid Labbaf Khaneiki International Center on Qanats and Historic International Center on Qanats and Historic Hydraulic Structures (UNESCO ICQHS) Hydraulic Structures (UNESCO ICQHS) Yazd , Iran Yazd , Iran ISBN 978-94-024-0955-0 ISBN 978-94-024-0957-4 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-94-024-0957-4 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016959456 © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2017 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
    [Show full text]