The Archaeology of Irrigation Technology and Water Management in the Islamic World
Proceedings of the Bahrain Conference, January 2024
Published on 18. September 2025
Book
Hardback
200 pages
978-1-80583-109-9 (ISBN)
Description
The archaeology of irrigation technology and water management encompasses a wide range of structures - subterranean tunnels (qanats, 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.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Archaeopress
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
120 figures, 15 tables (colour throughout)
Dimensions
Height: 210 mm
Width: 298 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
1010 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-80583-109-9 (9781805831099)
DOI
10.32028/9781805831099
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
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.
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.
Content
Chapter 1. The Archaeology of Irrigation Technology and Water Management in the Islamic World. An Introduction - Timothy Insoll, Rachel MacLean and Salman Almahari
Chapter 2. The Archaeology of Water in Bahrain in the Islamic Period - Timothy Insoll, Rachel MacLean and Salman Almahari
Chapter 3. Archaeology of Water in Islamic Southern Arabia - Michael J. Harrower and Amir Zaribaf
Chapter 4. Water Management at Qur?/al-Mabiyat (North-West Arabia): Between the Exploitation of Natural Resources and the Mitigation of Risks - Friedrich W. Weigel, Anna Nilges, Patrick Keilholz and Arnulf Hausleiter
Chapter 5. Traditional Irrigation Systems in al-Aflaj Governorate, Saudi Arabia - Ajab Al-Otibi
Chapter 6. Old Water Structures in the Islamic City of al-Rabadha on the Hajj Road from Kufa to Makkah - Saad Abdulaziz Al-Rashid
Chapter 7. Irrigation Systems in the Iraqi Western Desert: Abu Jir Springs Line as a Case Study - Jaafar Jotheri, Rajwan Al-Mayali, Ali Al-Gburi, Louise Rayne, Abdulameer Al-Gabri, Ammar Haddad and Mustafa Al-Hamzah
Chapter 8. Oasis Construction on Landscape Scale: How Ancient Runoff Irrigation in the Southern Levant Created Fertile Agricultural Terrace Soils - Bernhard Lucke
Chapter 9. Beyond the Silk Roads Trade: Irrigated Agriculture in the Middle Zeravshan Valley, Samarkand Oasis (Uzbekistan) - Simone Mantellini
Chapter 10. The Archaeology of Water Management on the Swahili Coast of East Africa - Monika Baumanova
Chapter 11. Building Landscapes with Water in al-Andalus. Historical Irrigation Systems as Cultural Heritage and Examples of Sustainability and Resilience - Jose Maria Martin Civantos
Chapter 12. Water Management and Irrigation Systems in Islamic Sicily and Beyond - Angelo Castrorao Barba
Chapter 13. Interpretational Correlation between the Hydrological Infrastructure and Water Architecture in Islamic Alexandria within a Contemporary Urban Context - Mohamed Soliman
Chapter 14. The Potential of Istanbul's Water Heritage for Current and Future Water-Related Challenges - Mariette Verhoeven
Chapter 2. The Archaeology of Water in Bahrain in the Islamic Period - Timothy Insoll, Rachel MacLean and Salman Almahari
Chapter 3. Archaeology of Water in Islamic Southern Arabia - Michael J. Harrower and Amir Zaribaf
Chapter 4. Water Management at Qur?/al-Mabiyat (North-West Arabia): Between the Exploitation of Natural Resources and the Mitigation of Risks - Friedrich W. Weigel, Anna Nilges, Patrick Keilholz and Arnulf Hausleiter
Chapter 5. Traditional Irrigation Systems in al-Aflaj Governorate, Saudi Arabia - Ajab Al-Otibi
Chapter 6. Old Water Structures in the Islamic City of al-Rabadha on the Hajj Road from Kufa to Makkah - Saad Abdulaziz Al-Rashid
Chapter 7. Irrigation Systems in the Iraqi Western Desert: Abu Jir Springs Line as a Case Study - Jaafar Jotheri, Rajwan Al-Mayali, Ali Al-Gburi, Louise Rayne, Abdulameer Al-Gabri, Ammar Haddad and Mustafa Al-Hamzah
Chapter 8. Oasis Construction on Landscape Scale: How Ancient Runoff Irrigation in the Southern Levant Created Fertile Agricultural Terrace Soils - Bernhard Lucke
Chapter 9. Beyond the Silk Roads Trade: Irrigated Agriculture in the Middle Zeravshan Valley, Samarkand Oasis (Uzbekistan) - Simone Mantellini
Chapter 10. The Archaeology of Water Management on the Swahili Coast of East Africa - Monika Baumanova
Chapter 11. Building Landscapes with Water in al-Andalus. Historical Irrigation Systems as Cultural Heritage and Examples of Sustainability and Resilience - Jose Maria Martin Civantos
Chapter 12. Water Management and Irrigation Systems in Islamic Sicily and Beyond - Angelo Castrorao Barba
Chapter 13. Interpretational Correlation between the Hydrological Infrastructure and Water Architecture in Islamic Alexandria within a Contemporary Urban Context - Mohamed Soliman
Chapter 14. The Potential of Istanbul's Water Heritage for Current and Future Water-Related Challenges - Mariette Verhoeven