The Archaeology of Irrigation Technology and Water Management in the Islamic World

The archaeology of irrigation technology and water management encompasses a wide range of structures – subterranean tunnels (qanāts, falaj, foggara, ghayl etc.), reservoirs, cisterns, canals, aqueducts, tanks, fountains, water mills, wells, dams, barrages – in a variety of contexts – mountains, deserts, forests, agricultural, horticultural, urban, village, military, riverine, estuarine, coastal, lacustrine – and over a long time period from the seventh through to nineteenth centuries. However, in many areas the archaeology of these facilities remains little explored. This volume begins to rectify this through a variety of case studies examining the diverse ways that past populations have developed hydraulic infrastructure for moving and managing water across the Islamic World. It also considers how past human ingenuity in developing hydraulic infrastructure, now often fallen into disrepair and dis-use, could hold lessons for the present and offer solutions for the future as humanity faces the challenges of environmental and climate change.

Author Biography

Professor Timothy Insoll OBE is a Fellow of the British Academy and Al-Qasimi Professor of African and Islamic Archaeology in the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter.

Dr Rachel MacLean is an Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Archaeology, University of Exeter, and has worked on the archaeology of Bahrain for 25 years.

Dr Salman Almahari is Director-General of Archaeology at the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities and is a leading specialist in the archaeology and heritage of Bahrain and the Gulf.