Ancient Water Technologies
There is no more fundamental resource than water. The basis of all life, water is fast becoming a key issue in today’s world, as well as a source of conflict. This fascinating book, which sets out many of the ingenious methods by which ancient societies g
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Ancient Water Technologies Larry W. Mays Editor
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Editor Larry W. Mays School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment Arizona State University Tempe, AZ 85287-5306 USA [email protected]
ISBN 978-90-481-8631-0 e-ISBN 978-90-481-8632-7 DOI 10.1007/978-90-481-8632-7 Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg London New York Library of Congress Control Number: 2010922811 © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010 No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Cover illustration: Aqueduct near Milas, Turkey for supplying water to ancient Mylasa, photo by Larry W. Mays, taken May 2009. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
Preface
Water technology began during antiquity long before the great works of investigators such as Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) and Daniel Bernoulli (1700–1782). The history of water technology started even before Archimedes (287–212 B.C.). Moreover, great water projects were already built thousands of years before the development of the concepts of conservation of mass, energy and momentum, (which are used in present-day water project designs) even existed. This book presents an introduction to ancient water technology. It is different from other books related to ancient water technologies and concentrated on specific ancient civilizations, in that it presents a more universal picture of ancient water technology. It is written by authors from multidisciplinary fields ranging from engineering, water resources engineering, hydrology to archaeology, architecture and geology. The entire spectrum of ancient water technologies can never be covered in one book, let alone by one author, however, this volume provides an excellent overview of the water technologies of many ancient civilizations. These include the very earliest civilizations such as the Mesopotamians and the Indus Valley Civilization, later civilizations such as the Mycenaeans, the Minoans, the Persians, and the Egyptians, followed by water technologies of the Greeks, the Romans, the Urartians, and the Nabataeans. Furthermore, water technologies of ancient civilizations in the Americas, including the Hohokams, the Anasazis, the Teotihuacans, the Xochicalcoans, the Mayans, the Aztecs, and the Incas are also covered. Each of the chapters presents a detailed discussion on various topics, one can read for example about ancient Greek Lavatories, an analysis of the water system of a Roman city, effects on groundwater resources from earthquakes in antiquity or, the water management of a complex in ancient Iran. This book has grown out of a sincere passion to learn about water technology developed by ancient civilizations. This h
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