Mitigating Water Scarcity in the Medieval and Islamic Periods

IF 0.7 0 ARCHAEOLOGY

Journal of Islamic Archaeology Pub Date : 2022-02-16 DOI:10.1558/jia.20244

Yinon Shivtiel, A. Frumkin, M. Bar-Matthews

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Abstract

During the intermediate Islamic period, the settlement of Safed was transformed from a small unknown village in Upper Galilee to an important stronghold and administrative center, aggravating the problem of the town’s water supply. Lacking natural springs, Safed depended on cisterns fed by gutters that channeled seasonal rainwater from the roofs and on distant springs in the Nahal Amud ravine. As the town’s population grew, its rulers were required to install public water systems. Our field study of the region reveals several Mamluk water systems whose outstanding features are an aqueduct that channeled water by force of gravity from 'Ayn Biriyya to the Crusader/Mamluk citadel in Safed, and a spring tunnel flowing beneath the town that was accessible via shafts in the houses. The composition of the water in the tunnel is similar to that of a famous ritual bath in one of these houses, indicating a probable connection. The water systems were dated using Uranium-Thorium analysis and by radiocarbon dating. An ancient spring tunnel at the nearby site of 'Ayn al-Zaytun that may have inspired the construction of Safed’s water systems is also discussed. The archaeological finds and dating are consistent with several historical sources describing the construction of water systems in Safed.

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缓解中世纪和伊斯兰时期的水资源短缺

在伊斯兰教中期，萨法德定居点从上加利利一个不知名的小村庄变成了一个重要的据点和行政中心，加剧了该镇的供水问题。由于没有天然的泉水，萨法德依靠排水沟和远处纳哈尔阿穆德峡谷的泉水来收集雨水。随着城镇人口的增长，统治者被要求安装公共供水系统。我们对该地区的实地研究揭示了几个马穆鲁克供水系统，其突出特点是通过重力将水从Ayn Biriyya引导到Safed的十字军/马穆鲁克城堡的渡槽，以及流经城镇下方的泉水隧道，可以通过房屋的竖井进入。隧道里的水的成分与其中一个房子里著名的仪式浴室的水相似，表明可能存在联系。用铀钍分析和放射性碳定年法测定了水系统的年代。在Ayn al-Zaytun附近的一个古老的泉水隧道，可能启发了Safed水系统的建设也进行了讨论。考古发现和年代测定与一些描述萨法德水系统建设的历史资料一致。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Islamic Archaeology ARCHAEOLOGY-

CiteScore

0.70

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0.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： The Journal of Islamic Archaeology is the only journal today devoted to the field of Islamic archaeology on a global scale. In the context of this journal, “Islamic archaeology” refers neither to a specific time period, nor to a particular geographical region, as Islam is global and the center of the “Islamic world” has shifted many times over the centuries. Likewise, it is not defined by a single methodology or theoretical construct (for example; it is not the “Islamic” equivalent of “Biblical archaeology”, with an emphasis on the study of places and peoples mentioned in religious texts). The term refers to the archaeological study of Islamic societies, polities, and communities, wherever they are found. It may be considered a type of “historical” archaeology, in which the study of historically (textually) known societies can be studied through a combination of “texts and tell”.