Theme:
1. Artefacts, Buildings & Ecofacts
Session format:
Regular session
Title:
Water Management and Storage Systems in Antiquity: Archaeological, Historical, and Environmental Analysis of Hydraulic Structures
Content:
Water is a resource of vital importance for humans, requiring efficient management and planning strategies for its use and control. Therefore, in Antiquity, hydraulic constructions were built to collect water from various sources (groundwater, rainwater or surface water) or to divert its flow. Likewise, although aqueducts, particularly in Roman times, allowed a greater supply in terms of water quality and quantity, it did not eliminate the practice of water catchment, which continued to be employed for a complementary use or with a storage strategy (to accumulate surplus or to avoid water shortages). We are referring to wells, cisterns, reservoirs, water channelling. These archaeological structures survived over time and were frequently reused, making certain dating difficult. In some cases, the typology of these structures is the result of the cultural influences of each community and its adaptation to the natural environment, otherwise a choice influenced by water law.
In this session we emphasize the importance of hydraulic infrastructures in the ancient world, with a particular focus on Europe and the Mediterranean region from Iron Age to Late Antiquity, both as exclusive or complementary means of water supply for human settlements, and also as a method of draining and evacuating water. Papers can present topographic, structural or volumetric analyses of these facilities, as well as their hydrogeological and environmental contextualisation. Contributions addressing methodological aspects focused on the research and archaeological record of these structures are also welcome, including remote sensing techniques for their detection, and GIS analysis. We also accept studies related to the historical background of these hydraulic constructions and their relationship to the cultural evolution of the ancient communities, as well as their role in water planning strategies.
Keywords:
Water supply, sustainable water management, ancient water technology
Session associated with MERC:
no
Session associated with CIfA:
no
Session associated with SAfA:
no
Session associated with CAA:
no
Session associated with DGUF:
no
Session associated with other:
Main organiser:
Maria del Mar Castro García (Spain) 1
Co-organisers:
Jesús Acero Pérez (Spain) 2
Catarina Felício (Portugal) 3
Davide Gangale Risoleo (Italy) 4
Jean-Baptiste Lebret (France) 5
Affiliations:
1. University of Granada
2. Department of Prehistory and Archaeology, University of Seville
3. CHAM - Centre for the Humanities, NOVA University of Lisbon
4. UNICAL - Università della Calabria
5. CNRS, UMR5140 - Archéologie des sociétés Méditerranéennes
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