Ground water management

Groundwater management in Southeast Arabia from the

Bronze Age to the Iron Age: a critical reassessment

Julien Charbonnier

Received: 14 March 2013 /Accepted: 9 September 2014

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Abstract This paper aims to review the evidence of irrigation structures in Southeast

Arabia during the Bronze Age (c. 3200–1300 B.C.) and the Iron Age (c. 1300–300 B.C.).

The preliminary results of the excavation of hydraulic structures in Masafı (United Arab

Emirates) are also presented. While in Arabia many studies have been devoted to the qanāt

technology, and especially its origin, it is demonstrated that these structures are badly

dated. Conversely, it appears that wells played a significant role in water supply during the

pre-Islamic period as well as in the present-day.

Keywords Arabia · Irrigation · Oasis · Falaj · Qanāt · Well · Channel ·

Iron Age · Bronze Age

Introduction

A significant number of studies are dedicated to the qanāt. Indeed, this technique of water

channelling has been used on every continent and at different periods (Beaumont 1989;

Mostafaeipour 2010). A qanāt is a slightly sloped tunnel draining groundwater up to the

surface. It is ventilated by shaft holes that are also used to remove the spoil when digging

underground (Fig. 1). Qanāts must always be dug with a gradient as the water reaches the

surface by gravity.

In the Middle East, qanāts have been documented in Syria (Braemer et al. 2010),

Northern Iraq (Wilkinson and Rayne 2010), Saudi Arabia, Yemen (Serjeant and Lewcock

1983) and Iran (Briant 2001; Mostafaeipour 2010). In Southeast Arabia (i.e. the north of

Oman and the United Arab Emirates) thousands of qanāts have been dug, many of them

are still in use today. In 1982, the Public Authority for Water Resources of the Sultanate of

J. Charbonnier (&)

Department of Archaeology, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK

e-mail: [email protected]

123

Water Hist

DOI 10.1007/s12685-014-0110-x

Oman estimated that qanāts provided 9 million m3 of water and irrigated 55 % of the

arable lands in the country (Dutton 1989, p. 237).

To dig and to maintain a qanāt, and then to share its water flow, individuals must come

together and cooperate. Families or small groups of people cannot build qanāts, as they

require large investments (Beaumont 1989, p. 27; Costa and Wilkinson 1987, p. 37). They

must be constructed jointly and water must be distributed between users. An organisation is

set up to supervise the sharing of water and to maintain the canals. Today, in Southeast

Arabia, this organisation is led by the wakīl who appoints workers for maintenance tasks

and settles quarrels about water access. The‘arīf is responsible for water distribution. There

are wakīl and‘arīf only in oases where the number of owners is sufficiently large to require

their service. If a qanāt is owned by a small number of people, they organise themselves to

share its water (Charbonnier 2014).

More qanāts have been excavated in Southeast Arabia since the last 30 years than in any

other region of the world. The origin of this technology is still debated and several articles

have been devoted to this topic (see al-Tikriti 2002a; Boucharlat 2001, 2003; Lightfoot

2000).

The main issues that arose were:

● When was the qanāt technology developed? The Bronze Age (Orchard and Orchard

2007) or the Iron Age (al-Tikriti 2010)?

● Where was it developed? In Iran or in Arabia (English 1968; Wilkinson 1977; Goblot

1979; al-Tikriti 2002a; Boucharlat 2001, 2003; Potts 1990 among others)?

Some researchers have pointed out the fact that qanāts dating back to the first half of the

first millennium B.C. were found in the U.A.E. (al-Tikriti 2002a). Others have claimed that

these structures were draining only shallow groundwater (underflow) and not deep aquifers

as “true” qanāts do. According to Boucharlat, it is necessary to differentiate between these

two types of structures. He proposes naming both of them “underground water-draining

galleries” and to restrict the term qanāt to the structures draining a deep aquifer and that

can’t be detected on the surface (Boucharlat 2001, 2003).

The typology proposed by R. Boucharlat is important. When studying these structures it

is fundamental to understand which source of water they depended on. It influenced their

evolution and their lifespan, with some resources being more affected by short-term cli-

mate variations. Qanāts can drain many types of groundwater: fossil aquifers, colluvial

deposits, groundwater located in alluvial fans or underflows in wādī beds among others. In

Southeast Arabia, qanāts tap the two last types of resources. However, as D. Balland stated

some years ago, the need to adapt each qanāt to a specific environment is the main reason

Fig. 1 Plan and section of a qanāt (after English 1968: Fig. 1)

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for the diversity of forms in which they occur (Balland 1992, p. 2). In Iran, there are thick

colluvial deposits at the foot of the mountains that provide water; in Oman it is easier to tap

underflow than deeper aquifers. I would argue in accordance with G. Weisgerber that the

general technical characteristics of all these types of qanāts are identical: they are dug the

same way and for the same purposes (Weisgerber 2005, p. 62). Thus, I will use the local

term falaj (pl. aflāj) for all these structures, regardless of the aquifer drained.1

In this paper, I aim to take a step back from the controversy about the origin of falaj

technology. Instead, I will review the available data regarding groundwater irrigation

techniques in Southeast Arabia and I will outline what we know about water management

in the Bronze (c. 3200–1300 B.C.) and the Iron Ages (c. 1300–300 B.C.). New data coming

from the site of Masafı (U.A.E.), excavated by the author, will also be presented. I will

highlight the fact that groundwater resources were important during the pre-Islamic peri-

ods, as the climate was already arid, but were also exploited by means of wells. The period

of introduction of the falaj, conversely, is difficult to estimate, as these structures remain

badly dated.

Beginnings of agriculture in Southeast Arabia: environmental and economic contexts

Southeast Arabia is surrounded by the Persian Gulf to the northwest, the Gulf of Oman to

the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the south and the Rub‘al-Khalı desert to the west. It is

crossed by the al-Hajar chain, which is about 700 km long and up to 3,000 m high

(Sanlaville 2000, p. 138). In some areas of the mountains precipitations reach 200–300 mm

per year but in the surrounding piedmonts and coastal plains, they are below 100 mm on

average (Sanlaville 2000, p. 49).

Since the beginning the Holocene, the climate of Southeast Arabia has significantly

changed. Today the summer monsoon affects Yemen and Dhofar, south of the Sultanate

of Oman. At the beginning of the Holocene (9th millennium B.C.) the monsoon advanced

northward and reached Southeast Arabia, as shown by the study of speleothems from

caves in Oman. This phenomenon caused a rise in precipitations (Fleitmann and Matter

2009, p. 640). Lakes formed in these regions at that time (Parker et al. 2006) as well as

savanna grasslands (Parker et al. 2004). At the end of the 6th millennium B.C., the

monsoon began shifting toward the south (Fleitmann and Matter 2009, p. 641). As a

result, a marked decrease in monsoon precipitation was recorded in the second half of the

5th millennium B.C. The monsoon had ceased to affect Southeast Arabia by this time

(Fleitmann et al. 2007, p. 180; Fleitmann and Matter 2009, p. 640). Awafi lake (northern

U.A.E.) records peaks of aridity at the beginning and at the end of the 4th millennium B.

C. followed by the return of moist conditions until the end of the 3rd millennium B.C.

(Parker et al. 2006, pp. 472–473). It is against this background, between the end of the 4th

and the beginning of the 3rd millennium B.C., that significant cultural and economic

changes occurred in Southeast Arabia: increase in social complexity, appearance of

monumental stone architecture (tombs and tower-like structures), introduction of pottery

and agriculture (Cleuziou and Tosi 1997, p. 128). Indeed, local economy was based on

herding, gathering and fishing at the end of the Neolithic. The aridification is believed to

have contributed to these social transformations (Cleuziou and Tosi 1997, p. 132; Mery

2013, p. 3). There is however a gap between the aridification process (5th–4th millennia

1 The term falaj is used ambiguously in Oman since it can also mean a structure diverting floodwater or a

network of canals. For this paper I restrict its meaning to a qanāt.

Groundwater management in Southeast Arabia

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B.C.) and the introduction of agriculture in Southeast Arabia (perhaps the end of the 4th

millennium, with certainty the first half of the 3rd millennium B.C.). The region wasn’t

deserted during the 5th and 4th millennia B.C. Many more sites are conversely known,

suggesting an increase in population (Cleuziou 2005, pp. 141–142). Maritime resources,

as well as mangroves, were actively exploited at that time (Biagi and Nisbet 2006;

Cleuziou 2005, p. 134).

During the Hafit (3200–2700 B.C.) and Umm an-Nar (2700–2000 B.C.) periods,

Southeast Arabia was integrated into a regional exchange network. Throughout this time,

copper from the al-Hajar mountains was exported to Mesopotamia and the Indus region

(Cleuziou 1999, p. 99). Population continued to increase and social structures became more

complex and stratified, hence the need for agriculture to sustain this process (Cleuziou

2005, p. 144). Contacts with Mesopotamia, Iran and Indus seem to have ignited the spark

for the adoption of agriculture as the first crops cultivated were imported from these

regions (Tengberg 2003, p. 235).

Archaeobotanical evidence suggests that agriculture was practiced since at least the

Umm an-Nar periods in Southeast Arabia (Cleuziou and Costantini 1980; Willcox and

Tengberg 1995; Tengberg 2003). Common wheat (Triticum cf. aestivum) and six-rowed

barley (Hordeum vulgare subsp. hexastichum L.) were cultivated near the 3rd millennium

at the site of Bat. Remains of naked wheat, emmer (Triticum dicoccum Schubl.), two-rowed

barley (Hordeum vulgare subsp. distichum L.), six-rowed barley, oat (Avena sp.), pea

(Pisum sativum L.) and melon (Cucumis melo L.) have also been found at Hılı (Tengberg

2003, p. 232). Date seem to have been eaten in several settlements: Hılı, Bat and Tell

Abraq (Cleuziou and Costantini 1980; Cleuziou 1997, p. 390–392; Cleuziou 1998, p. 60–

61; Cleuziou 1999, p. 84; Tengberg 2003, p. 232). Wood remains of palm trees (Phœnix

dactylifera) were also collected at Hılı, suggesting that this species was cultivated locally

(Tengberg 2003, p. 232). Furthermore, many date stones were excavated at Hılı, which

shows the importance of date palms in the 3rd millennium B.C. economy. In tomb A (Hılı

north) young adults had lost up to 90 % of their molars due to excessive consumption of

sugar (Cleuziou and Tosi 2007, p. 150). It is difficult to believe that dates were imported

from abroad, as suggested by W. al-Tikriti (al-Tikriti 2010, p. 243, footnote 23), since the

local economy and society were not sufficiently complex to allow for the import of massive

amounts of dried dates present in the archaeological record. Dates were also part of the diet

in coastal sites, such as Tell Abraq and Umm an-Nar on the Arabian Gulf (Willcox and

Tengberg 1995; Tengberg 2003, p. 233), and Ra’s al-Jinz on the Gulf of Oman, where they

were probably traded for fish (Cleuziou 1999, pp. 98–99).

The origin of date palm cultivation is unclear. According to recent studies, wild Phœnix

dactylifera was growing in the Middle East, North Africa and around the Persian Gulf. It is

also suggested that it could have been domesticated in this latter region (Gros-Balthazard

et al. 2013, pp. 17–19 et 24). Two charred date stones were recovered on a Neolithic site in

the island of Dalma, 200 km east of Abu Dhabi. These remains are dated from the end of

the 6th-beginning of the 5th millennium B.C. It is however not known if these dates were

imported from abroad (Mesopotamia?), gathered from the wild or represent an earlier stage

of domestication (Beech and Shepherd 2001, pp. 87–88).

Evidence of hydraulic structures during the Bronze Age

All the crops attested in 3rd millennium sites need a significant amount of water to grow.

Although moister conditions characterized the region during the first half of the 3rd

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millennium B.C., it seems that rains were insufficient and irregular for dry farming and

crops had to be irrigated (Preston et al. 2012). The climate then became significantly more

arid during the last quarter of this millennium according to paleoclimate record (4.2 ka

hyperarid event; Cullen et al. 2000). Bronze Age irrigation systems are poorly documented.

In or near the mountains, some dams could indicate the diversion of runoff water during

this period; however, they are difficult to date and, sometimes, to interpret (see Brunswig

1989; Costa and Wilkinson 1987; Hastings et al. 1975; Weisgerber and Yule 2003). I will

leave aside these constructions and will focus on the use of groundwater, which is required

on the foothills where runoff is scarce rare.

Channels and ditches: Hılı 8

According to Cleuziou the falaj could have been used since the beginning of the 3rd

millennium B.C. (Cleuziou 1998, pp. 61–62; Cleuziou 1999, p. 90; Cleuziou 2009, p. 731).

At the site of Hılı 8 (Figs. 2 and 3), located in the oasis of al-‘Ayn (Abu Dhabi Emirate),

several trenches filled with water were recovered (Figs. 4 and 5). They were dug below the

ground around a large building, called building III or “the tower”, dating from the Hafit and

Umm an-Nar periods.

Building III is a large square platform of mudbrick (c. 16 9 16 m) with rounded corners

(Cleuziou 1989, p. 63). A 3 m wide ditch, T 1, surrounded it on three sides: west, south and

east. T 1 is 1.20 deep to the north-east and 2.70 m deep to the west. T 1 can be dated from

the period 3000–2700 B.C. because it clearly surrounds Building III and it was later

covered by buildings V and VI. The latter was built south-east of Building III. At that time

T 1 was abandoned and a new ditch—T 3 (c. 1.60 m wide and 1.50 m deep)—was dug

whose remains have been found about 10 m north-east of the tower (Cleuziou 1989, pp.

65–66). T 3 has been destroyed toward the east by later constructions but it could have

surrounded the tower and buildings IV and V in the same manner as T 1.

After 2700 B.C., the tower was reshaped and enlarged by the construction of a ring of

mudbrick. This new tower, Building IV, was about 22 m in diameter and was surrounded,

like the previous one, by a large ditch (c. 4–5 m wide and 1.75 m deep). The fact that a

small channel—T 4—coming from the south ended up at this ditch indicates that it was

intended to store water, at least occasionally (Cleuziou 1989, pp. 67–68). T 4 wasn’t

isolated but it was part of a network of channels that were partly excavated east of the

tower. The internal chronology of these channels could be comprehended. First of all,

channels T 5 and T 12, oriented north-west to south-east, were dug. They were shallow

trenches of about 15 cm deep and 120 cm wide. Basin P 30 (c. 2 9 2 m) was then dug

between T 5 and T 12. T 4 was dug afterwards. It was c. 40 cm and 30–35 cm deep, sloping

toward the north and the large ditch surrounding Building IV. T 8 corresponded to a re-

digging of T 4 and was slightly deeper: 35–40 cm. T 4 and T 8 were crossing basin P 18 (c.

2 9 1 m). Finally, a wider channel—T 7—oriented east–west cut through T 8 and P 30. T 7

was about 1 m wide and 1 m deep (Cleuziou 1997, p. 403). As with the other trenches,

these channels were dug in the ground and not built above it. According to Cleuziou, they

could have been situated at the outlet of canals, which were built above the ground and that

have since been eroded. This would explain why T 12 appears suddenly. Cleuziou also

suggested that these canals, and the trenches, were fed by a falaj as the latter were dug

deeper and deeper over time: the bottom of the last channel (T 7) is situated about 90 cm

below the bottom of the oldest (T 4) (Cleuziou 1998, pp. 61–62; Cleuziou 1999, p. 90).

Indeed, it is common to lower the gallery of a falaj and associated channels if the water


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Fig. 2 Map of Northern Oman and U.A.E. showing the location of Bronze and Iron Age sites (© Julien

Charbonnier)

Fig. 3 Map of the site of Hılı (after al-Tikriti 2002a: Fig. 3)

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table sinks (Costa and Wilkinson 1987, p. 38). Hılı’s trenches would have been lowered at

the same time as above ground irrigation channels were connected to a falaj according to

Cleuziou. In Hılı, the wells were also dug deeper and deeper during the occupation of the

site (see below), which could indicate a lowering of the water table during the second half

of the 3rd millennium B.C. This phenomenon might have been a consequence of the 4.2

hyperarid event at the end of this millennium.

Although these channels clearly date back to the Early Bronze Age, as the large ditch

was covered by structures dating back to the end of the 3rd millennium B.C. (Cleuziou

1989, pp. 16–18), their interpretation is difficult. No remains of a falaj were uncovered in

Hılı, weakening Cleuziou’s hypothesis. The deepening of the channels could indicate a will

to store more water. It would have been interesting to continue digging the channels toward

the east and the south in order to find out if they were related to a hydraulic structure such

as a falaj or a well.

Similar ditches have been discovered around several Umm an-Nar towers in Oman. K.

Frifelt reports that large ditches (up to 4 m wide) were found around tower 1145 in Bat

(Frifelt 1976, p. 59). As in Hılı, no above ground canals were discovered (Frifelt 2002, p.

104). Recently, a ditch was partly excavated in Salut by an Italian mission. It surrounded a

3rd millennium tower (ST 1) and was about 10 m wide. Michele Degli Esposti, who was in

Fig. 4 Hılı 8 and surrounding trenches (Cleuziou 1997: Fig. 5)


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charge of the excavation, notes “For what concerns its original use, the debate remains

open, ranging from a defensive to an irrigation purpose” (Degli Esposti 2013, p. 3). I doubt

it was connected to an irrigation system to the extent that it is dug below the ground.

Irrigation channels are ordinarily located above the ground in order to bring water to the

field by gravity. I would thus argue that we should favour the defensive hypothesis. Water

could also have been stored for consumption but a well, located in the center of the tower,

would have been better suited. Besides, no evidence proves that this ditch was intended to

permanently store water. However, given the important runoff processes in this arid area

and the scarce vegetation cover, it must have been yearly filled with water. Although the

rains are nowadays weak and localized, the excavated portion of the ditch already filled up

during the winter field season (Degli Esposti, personal communication). This remark

applies to the other ditches found in Bat and Hılı.

Fig. 5 Trenches at Hılı 8 (Cleuziou 1997: Fig. 7)

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Falaj: Bahla’

Recently, J. and J. Orchard announced the discovery of a falaj dating back to 3000 B.C. in

the region of Bahla’ (Sultanate of Oman), south of the Al Hajar mountains. Test trenches

were dug in this structure (Fig. 6). It was partly built as a tunnel and partly as an open-air

trench. The gallery was 2.70 m high and 0.5 m wide. Small “bridges” crossed it when it

was flowing in the open.

According to J. and J. Orchard, there are several indications that the falaj dates back to

the Early Bronze Age:

– Sherds collected both at the surface of the site it crosses and inside in the fill of the

gallery all belong to this period.

– The gallery cuts one of the ditches surrounding a large circular mound. This structure is

assumed to date back to the 3rd millennium B.C. as it is covered with Bronze Age

sherds. It also reminds the trenches surrounding the Hılı 8 and Bat towers.

– Two charcoal samples, coming from loci with a stratigraphic relationship to the

underground gallery, have been dated to 2910–2850 cal B.C. and 2620–2470 cal B.C.

The first one was taken from a hearth partly dug in one of the “bridges” crossing the

falaj and partly in the fill of the gallery. The second one was collected fill of the gallery

itself. (Orchard and Orchard 2007, pp. 150–151).

The conclusions of J. and J. Orchard can be criticised. Taken independently, each of the

arguments they put forward may be contested. The stratigraphic relationship between the

ditches and the gallery is not clearly stated in the description they provide. Is the gallery

intersecting or running under the ditch? Has the gallery cut the ditch or has the ditch cut the

gallery? Neither sections nor photographs have been provided that would support the

hypothesis of J. and J. Orchard. It is possible that the Bronze Age sherds found in the

gallery could come from older occupation layers and could have fallen inside, and similar

processes could account for the charcoal sample collected in the fill of the gallery. Con-

cerning the second sample, the stratigraphic relationship between the hearth, the “bridge”

and the fill of the gallery has not been clearly demonstrated. Finally, the downstream

section of the structure hasn’t been recognised and is not currently related to any site.

Wells

For the moment, there is no clear evidence that the falaj was used during the Bronze Age.

Wells, on the other hand, were found near many Umm an-Nar towers, including those of

Bat (Frifelt 2002, p. 104). The wells discovered at Maysar 25 and Maysar 1, two Bronze

Age settlements located in wādī Samad, were 15 m and 13 m deep respectively. Their

upper parts were built with stone blocks (Weisgerber 1981, p. 203; Weisgerber 2005, p.

65). The two wells are dated according to their spatial associations with other archaeo-

logical features: one is located in the center of the Umm an-Nar tower Maysar 25, the other

in a Bronze Age settlement.

Two wells were also discovered during the excavation of Hılı 8 (Fig. 7). The first one is

contemporary with Building III as it was established in its center. In Eastern Arabia, many

3rd millennium towers were equipped with a well, generally located in the center (see

Frifelt 1976 or 2002 for Bat, Degli Esposti 2011 for Salut). It was abandoned and filled

with loose earth and stones when Building IV was built about 2700 B.C. (Cleuziou 1989, p.

64). Well 2 was dug through the “ruins of compartment 25 of Building V” c. 2700 B.C.


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(Cleuziou 1989, p. 67). It can be associated with the tower Building IV, as it was included

in the masonry of its outer wall, and was used for about a millennium until c. 1800 B.C.

According to Cleuziou, it was still in use at the time of the third tower (Building I) as

shown by the presence of sherds dated from the beginning of the 2nd millennium at the

bottom of the well (Cleuziou 1989, pp. 67–68).

The two wells measure about 50 cm in diameter but are quite different from each other.

Well 1 was 3.85 m deep (Cleuziou 1997, p. 398) and is made of two distinct parts. The

upper part it exhibits a 50 cm wide shaft faced with stone blocks. This shaft has a circular

section at the top and evolves gradually into a square one. It leads to a rectangular drainage

chamber of 1.50 m by 0.65 m for 1.50 m high simply dug into the ground. The filling of the

drainage chamber indicates that it contained water (Cleuziou 1989, p. 64). The second well

was nearly 8.50 m deep, circular in section and faced with stone blocks up to a depth of

2 m below the surface (Cleuziou 1989, p. 68; Cleuziou 1997, p. 402). Cleuziou noticed that

the bottom of Well 2 was about 4.5 m below the one of Well 1, which indicates that the

water table lowered between the first half of the 3rd millennium B.C. and the beginning of

the 2nd millennium B.C. Cleuziou thinks that the second well was re-dug and extended

Fig. 6 Plan of the hypothetical Bronze Age falaj near Bahla’ (after Orchard and Orchard 2007: plate 19)

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several times, deeper and deeper. The shape of the shaft, which narrows at interval of 1–

2 m and then widens again, suggests that it was dug in stages.

Water management during the 2nd millennium B.C

A major arid event is attested at the end of the 3rd millennium by the drying out of Awafi

lake. The climate seems then to have been wetter during the 2nd millennium B.C.

according to paleolakes records (Parker et al. 2006, p. 473). At the beginning of this

millennium, both material culture and funeral practices evolved greatly. The so-called

Wadi Suq period lasted until c. 1600 B.C., at which point it was replaced by the far less

known Late Bronze Age (Velde 2003).

The corpus of excavated Wadi Suq and Late Bronze Age settlements is limited and

these periods are less known than the Early Bronze Age. Hydraulic structures dating back

to the 2nd millennium B.C. have therefore never been discovered. Sedentary lifestyle is

however attested in many places and evidence for the consumption of dates, wheat

(Triticum sp.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare) come from the site of Tell Abraq on the

western coast of the United Arab Emirates (Tengberg 2003, p. 233). Date palm and these

cereals were certainly cultivated regionally, as they are already attested on many 3rd

millennium sites. The climate was too arid at that time and irrigation was necessary. Wells

may have been widely used, as they are present on sites from the preceding and following

periods and as they can be dug in many areas.

Fig. 7 The wells excavated at Hılı 8 (Cleuziou 2009: Fig. 4)


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This 2nd millennium “hydraulic hiatus” hinders our analysis of the evolution of irri-

gation techniques in Southeast Arabia. The impact of climate change during this period is

difficult to assess.

Evidence of hydraulic structures during the Iron Age

The climate became more arid around 1000 B.C. and then remained stable during the

following millennium (Parker et al. 2006, p. 473). At that time it was similar to the present-

day (Fleitmann et al. 2007, p. 180). Despite this evolution, a significant increase in the

number of settlements occurred during Iron Age (1300–300 B.C.) and especially during the

Iron Age II (1100–600 B.C.). The resources and environments exploited during the Iron

Age seem to have been more diversified as the settlements were more widespread across

the region (Magee 2000). As a matter of fact, evidence of water management is much more

plentiful in the Iron Age.

During the Iron Age, evidence of date cultivation comes from the site of Muwailah (U.

A.E.) where thousands of charred date and date stones have been recovered in a store room

(c. 800–600 B.C.; Tengberg 1998, p. 196f). Date remains have also been found at Ru-

mailah, in al-‘Ayn (U.A.E.), along with wheat and barley (Iron Age II and III; Costantini

and Costantini Biasini 1986).

Falaj

Many aflāj have been found next to settlement sites in northern U.A.E. and Oman, of

which some have been partly excavated. Although there is no doubt about the fact that they

were really structures designed to drain groundwater, none have been dated from the Iron

Age with complete certainty.

However, according to some authors (al-Tikriti 2002a; Magee 2000), the use of aflāj is

clearly evidenced from the Iron Age II (1100–600 B.C.). Several structures have been

discovered on the foothills of the al-H˙ajar mountains, mainly in the United Arab Emirates.

Al-Mādam (U.A.E.)

Other dried aflāj were recorded and partly excavated by a French and a Spanish mission in

the depression of al-Madam (Emirate of Sharjah), 75 km north of al-‘Ayn (Fig. 8).

The northernmost one, AM-21 is visible on the surface of about 2 km. AM-31 is located

2.5 km to the south and its shaft holes are visible on about 1 km (Cordoba and Mouton

2001). The best studied one is AM-2, located 3 km south of AM-31. These structures have

been dated to the Iron Age based on little more than the fact that they seem to head toward

Iron Age sites.

AM-21 seems to head toward the present-day village of Umm S˙afah, where an Iron Age

occupation is also attested (Cordoba and Mouton 2001, p. 23), and is visible at a distance

of 2 km. Two Iron Age bowls have been recovered in the spoil heap of one of its access

shafts (Benoist et al. 1997, p. 65) but this indicates only that the structure cut through an

Iron Age site (Cordoba and Mouton 2001, p. 45).

AM-31 is visible on about 2.5 km and seems also to head toward Umm S˙afah. One of its

access shafts has been excavated but no dating elements were collected (Cordoba and

Mouton 2001, p. 42). The only element that could suggest a pre-Islamic date would be its

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hypothetical relationship with the Iron Age settlement of Umm S˙afah (Cordoba and

Mouton 2001, p. 45; Benoist and Mouton 1994, p. 2, 5). We need to keep in mind that

Umm S˙afah has been occupied during the Islamic period and the aflāj AM-21 and 31 could

have fed these more recent settlements and be Islamic in date.

Finally AM-2 has been more extensively excavated (Fig. 9): five shafts and the tunnel

connecting them were unearthed. The falaj is oriented southeast–northwest. The shafts are

circular in plan and are only dug in the ground. The roof of the tunnel is located 1.30 m

below the top of the access shafts. It was at least 4 m deep (but the bottom hasn’t been

reached) and about 50 cm wide (Cordoba and Del Cerro 2005, pp. 522–523). M. Cordoba

and C. Del Cerro observed that the gallery of AM-2 was bent between each shaft hole

(Mouton 2010: Fig. 2). Hılı 15 also undulates slightly in the areas of excavation D and E

(al-Tikriti 2002a: Fig. 4). It has been suggested this could reflect the fact that between each

shafts two teams of diggers were moving in opposite directions and met in the middle. As

they were likely to miss if they were moving straight, they were digging obliquely to be

sure to join (al-Tikriti 2010, p. 228; Cordoba 2013, p. 143, note 10).

The outlet of AM-2 has been recently found and excavated several hundred meters east

of al-Madam 1 settlement. The falaj was prolonged by a primary channel—100 cm wide

and 50 cm deep—which fed perpendicular secondary channels, all of them cut in the

bedrock. Small pits and larger rectangular basins were distributed along the secondary

channels. The first could be tree pits, the second water ponds. However the publication

doesn’t mention if any evidence for cultivation (organic material) has been noticed during

the excavation. A preislamic date could be supported by the Iron Age II sherds recovered

as well as by a radiocarbon date obtained on one shell of a gastropod from the Thiaridae

family. It was dated between 1160 et 808 B.C. with 95 % of probability, which corresponds

Fig. 8 Map of al-Madam showing the location of the aflāj (after Benoist and Mouton 1994: Fig. 1)


123

to the Iron Age II. Mollusks from Thiaridae family are freshwater snails and it is suggested

that they lived in the channels when active. Many shells were indeed found during the

excavation (Cordoba 2013, pp. 147–148). However, the freshwater reservoir effect, which

“can result in anomalously old radiocarbon ages of samples from lakes and rivers”

(Philippsen 2013), doesn’t seem to be taken into account. It would also be useful to analyse

other shells to confirm this dating.

According to M. Cordoba and C. Del Cerro, AM-2 shafts exhibit small steps, allowing

access to the underground gallery, similar to those discovered in a well located in the Iron

Age II site AM-1 (Cordoba and Del Cerro 2005, p. 523). Similar steps have been found in

the well of Hılı 8, Bronze Age in date, but they could have been carved at every period.

It has been suggested that the abandonment of this structure, as well as the desertion of

the Iron Age settlement at the end of the Iron Age II, could be related to a drop of the water

table. Cordoba indicates that the primary channel and the tunnel were re-cut in order to be

lowered, perhaps to follow the water table (Cordoba 2013, p. 148). At some point it was

too deep and the area had to be abandoned (Cordoba and Del Cerro 2005, p. 525).

AM-2 can thus be dated to the Iron Age with a little bit more certainty than the other

structures.

Hīlī 15 (U.A.E.)

The falaj of Hılı was discovered in the 1980s (Fig. 3). This structure, Hılı 15, was located

less than 50 cm below the present-day ground surface. Several trenches were opened at

intervals of about 500 m in order to unearth it.

Fig. 9 Plan of falaj al-Madam 2 (after Cordoba 2013: Fig. 1)

J. Charbonnier

123

The portion excavated corresponds to the downstream end of the falaj. Downstream,

Hılı 15 is an open-air channel, about 50 cm wide, faced with stone blocks2 (al-Tikriti

2002b: Fig. 37a). It is dug below the ground surface and is about 40 cm deep at the level of

Area B (al-Tikriti 2002b, p. 78, Fig. 36). Upstream, the channel is covered with stone slabs

(from Area E) and its bottom is located up to 2 m below the ground. A tunnel, discovered

accidentally 1.5 km northeast of the portion excavated, could correspond, according to W.

al-Tikriti, to the upstream part of Hılı 15 (al-Tikriti 2010, p. 228; al-Tikriti and Haddou

2001).

In area H, an access shaft, made of mudbrick, was unearthed. Stone slabs surround the

edge of the shaft. The internal diameter of the Iron Age shaft holes does not exceed 50 cm

(al-Tikriti 2002a, p. 112; al-Tikriti 2002b, pp. 114–115). The presence of a shaft in this

area suggests that the stone slabs sitting on top of the gallery were covered by earth. It was

therefore not possible to remove one of the slabs to access the gallery.

In area B, a water distributor (named sharī‘a by W. al-Tikriti),3 of a simple type, has

been recovered (Fig. 10). At that point, two channels split up at right angles from the

primary channel. One of the secondary channels was heading toward the northwest and the

other toward the southeast. Sluice gates could be set against vertical supports located on

either side of each channel (al-Tikriti 2002a, p. 120). They allowed for the flow of water to

be diverted into the secondary channels or maintained in the primary channel (al-Tikriti

2002b: Fig. 36).

Downstream, in Area A, two parallel channels have been recovered. One of them,

located to the north, must correspond to the primary channel; the other one seems to be a

secondary channel. A small channel, oriented northwest–southeast, links them together. A

network of earth channels, fed by the secondary channels, could have fed some cultivated

plots as stone made sluices have been recovered along them (al-Tikriti 2002a, p. 120).

Due to the presence of a housing estate north of the site, the upstream end of the falaj

couldn’t be recovered. Al-Tikriti assumed that it was located along Jabal Aqla, northeast of

Hılı (al-Tikriti 2002a, p. 124).

Hılı 15 has been dated to the Iron Age II by al-Tikriti due to the fact that Iron Age

sherds were recovered during the excavation and due to its position in the middle of the

Iron Age settlement. Indeed, an important building dating to this period, Hılı 14 (Bou-

charlat and Lombard 2001, pp. 125–126), is located approximately 100 m south of the

water distributor/sharī’a and it seems that one of the secondary channels was running in

that direction. Settlement Hılı 16 is situated 200 m south of Area A and Hılı 17 is 600 m

west. Hılı 17 corresponds to three houses of mudbrick that were occupied at the beginning

of the Iron Age II (al-Tikriti and Haddou 2001, p. 139). Settlement Hılı 2 (al-Tikriti et al.

2001) is located approximately 1600 m from the water distributor of Area B.

Falaj Hılı 15 could however be of a later age and have cut through the Iron Age site.

The presence of Iron Age sherds around it and in its fill could be explained in this way as

well. This structure has never been stratigraphically related to the nearby Iron Age

buildings. Conversely, the present-day oasis of Hılı is more than 2 km southwest of Hılı 15

2 The use of stone blocks can be explained by the fact that the ground is loose in the area.3 In Oman and the U.A.E., a sharī‘a corresponds to an area located on a canal where cloth or tableware can

be washed (Wilkinson 1977, p. 97). Al-Tikriti assumes that Area B is a sharī‘a due to the presence of a

pavement of stone slabs at the bottom of the channel. But this device is also a water distributor and it is more

likely that the pavement was intended to avoid scouring when water was diverted in one of the secondary

channels.


123

and the latter is already flowing at the surface so it couldn’t have irrigated Hılı’s palm

grove. No Islamic settlement has been found in close proximity. It would have been

interesting to follow the secondary channels to see if they reached one of the settlements,

for example Hılı 14 (located only 100 m south of the water distributor of Area B). The falaj

was located close to the ground surface and the excavators haven’t provided any

description of earth layers covering it.

It is also striking that the assumed gardens (next to Area A) haven’t been excavated over

an extensive area in order to understand their nature: were they palm grove or open fields?

Bida Bint‘Sa‘ūd (U.A.E.)

Located 13 km north of Hılı, the site of Bida Bint‘Sa‘ud was also studied by al-Tikriti’s

team. There, two aflāj were discovered (Fig. 11), one of which, oriented west-south-west/

east-north-east, was partly excavated. Water flowing in the falaj in the past was coming

from the east. Ten shafts have been unearthed (Fig. 12), as well as a large open-air basin or

cistern (15 m long) that could be accessed via a staircase (al-Tikriti 2002a, b; al-Tikriti

2010). Shaft holes are about 50 cm wide by 1 m long and are faced by stone blocks to a

depth of about 1.50 m. The underground gallery is about 70–80 cm wide (al-Tikriti 2002a:

Fig. 12). The bottom of the falaj is located about 4 m below the surface (al-Tikriti 2002a, p.

124).

An Iron Age settlement was excavated one hundred meters north of the cistern and

consisted of a mud brick building, 20 m by 15 m, surrounded by ephemeral structures (al-

Tikriti 2002a, p. 124). The falaj has been dated from the Iron Age II by al-Tikriti due to the

proximity of this settlement and because only Iron Age sherds have been found during the

excavation, both on the surface and inside the underground gallery, the shafts and the

cistern (al-Tikriti 2002a, p. 129; al-Tikriti et al. 2001, p. 66).

Fig. 10 The water distributor (Area B) of falaj Hılı 15 from the southwest (©Julien Charbonnier)

J. Charbonnier

123

Fig. 11 Map of the site of Bida Bint‘Sa‘ud showing the location of the aflāj (after al-Tikriti 2002a: Fig. 11)

Fig. 12 Plan of the excavated section of falaj 1 at Bida Bint‘Sa‘ud (after al-Tikriti 2002a: Fig. 13)


123

Masāfī (U.A.E.)

The oasis of Masafı is located in a basin north of the mountains of al-H˙ajar, in the Emirate

of Fujairah. Channels were unearthed in 2010 and 2011 in sector 1, southeast of the palm

grove (Fig. 13).

The main channel (St 481), excavated by the author over about 4 m (Fig. 14), is located

20 m north of a large building dating back to the Iron Age (Fig. 15). It corresponds to the

downstream end of an irrigation structure that provided water to a network of small earthen

channels built above the ground, which probably irrigated agricultural plots. The small

channels were excavated over about 3–4 m, north of St 481 (Benoist et al. 2012).

Channel St 481 is oriented northwest–southeast and turns towards the east at its

southern end. It is dug below the ground surface and measures c. 25 cm wide. The

sidewalls are built of small stone blocks (c. 10–20 cm long) and are about 30 cm high.

They support a cover of stone slabs (c. 70 cm long). At its northern end, St 481 rests again

a low wall made of vertical stone slabs (St 485) that seems to delimit sector 1 to the north.

The channel St 481 is filled with layered and graded sediments, indicating a rhythmic

sedimentation related to water flow.4 The upper part of these sediments is orange in colour,

which indicates that the channel dried up and that the iron particles present in the sedi-

ments oxidised when in contact with the air.

At the downstream end of St 481, the orange sediments were passing between two slabs of

wall St 485 and were visible at the bottom of a channel that was running toward the northeast

(St 495). St 495 is c. 20 cm wide, 6 cm deep and is delimited by two small ridges made of

packed silt and gravel (Fig. 16a). St 481 was also providing water to channel St 1032 (c.

15 cm wide), running toward the north and to channel St 494, running toward the southwest.

The later is visible for about 6 m and measures 10–15 cm wide. As with channel St 495, it

runs along the wall St 485. St 1032 and 494 were also filled with orange silty clay. A basin

was also discovered at the junction of channels St 494 and St 1032. It consists of an earth

levee, unfortunately only preserved over a quarter of a circle, but it was probably sub-

circular or oval originally. Orange silty clay sediments covered the bottom of the basin,

which had been destroyed to the north and the west. The bottom of the basin was situated c.

35 cm bellow the surrounding channels. If the basin was circular, its diameter was likely

around 2.5 m. It could have surrounded a tree, but no root traces have been found and we

must keep in mind that it was only partially preserved. Circular basins surrounding fruit trees

are current in the present-day oases of Eastern Arabia (see below). Circular tree basins have

also been discovered at the surface of 1st millennium B.C. irrigation systems in Yemen, such

as wādī Harıb, wādī Markha and Ma’rib (Bowen 1958, p. 60; Brunner 1997, p. 196; Heh-

meyer 1989, p. 38), and in the U.A.E. (see Qattarah below). Alternatively, the basin of

Masafı could have held water coming from channel ST 481.

This network of channels corresponds to the latest phase of irrigation in sector 1 (phase

III). Under channel St 495, an older channel was unearthed: St 1031 (phase II). It is

oriented northeast–southeast and was fed by channel St 481 (Fig. 16b). It is filled with silts

and gravels, c. 15 cm wide and is built, like the others, above the ground. St 1031 was

partly filled with orange silty clay sediments.

An older channel, St 1030 (phase I), was leaning against wall St 485 (Fig. 16c). St 1030

is c. 15-20 cm wide and is filled with silts and gravels. This structure had been cut to the

west by channels St 1031 and St 495. It doesn’t seem to be related to channel St 481 but

4 The sediments have been sampled and are currently being studied in a laboratory with the help of a

microscope by Louise Purdue (CNRS-CEPAM, Nice).

J. Charbonnier

123

could, instead, have been fed by an older channel, St 486, whose remains have been

discovered west of St 481.

The channels found at Masafı can be dated to the Iron Age for several reasons. Sector 1

was abandoned after the Iron Age and reused as a cemetery during the late Islamic period.

One of the graves (19th or 20th century AD) was dug in levels covering St 481 and cut the

Fig. 13 Map of Masafı oasis (© Julien Charbonnier, Mission Archeologique Francaise aux Emirats Arabes

Unis)

Fig. 14 The channel St 481 at Masafı and associated canals, view from the north (© Julien Charbonnier,

Mission Archeologique Francaise aux Emirats Arabes Unis)


123

gallery at one point. The structure is therefore much older and was completely buried at the

time a cemetery was established in Masafı 1. Stratigraphic evidence proves that St 481 was

in use during the Iron Age II.

East of the hydraulic structures, a small trench was opened in 2011 (2 9 4 m) in order to

look for the wall St 485. Several floors were unearthed. One (S 1035) is particularly

interesting because it covers the wall (Fig. 17). At the surface of this floor, made of packed

silt and gravel, many Iron Age II sherds were recovered in a layer of ashes. They seem to

have fallen on the floor from a shelf or a piece of furniture that had burnt (Fig. 18). St 485

can therefore be dated from the Iron Age.

St 481 was clearly built after wall St 485, as it rests against it, but is also Iron Age II in

date. Several occupation layers were excavated south of this channel in an area about 1 m

long. Iron age sherds have also been recovered in them. Two of them were contemporary

with St 481 (S 1009 and S 1026) and were covered by two other floors: S 1008 and S 484.

The latter had been excavated in 2010 on about 20 meters and is contemporary with an

Iron Age II building. In the center of this structure a large room had pillars supporting the

roof.

A recent radiocarbon date was obtained from charcoal fragments collected in US 45

(Fig. 19). This layer of silt is contemporary to channels St 1031 and St 595. The sample

gave a date in the 9th century B.C.,5 which corresponds to the second half of Iron Age II.

Although isolated, this date is consistent with stratigraphic evidence.

During the Iron Age II, water was therefore brought to the north of sector 1. Wall St 485

seems to have delimitated the settlement, to the south, from the fields, to the north. Indeed,

the channels fed by St 481 were located north of this wall while occupation layers have

Fig. 15 Aerial kite photograph of Masafı 1 (© Thomas Sagory, Mission Archeologique Francaise aux

Emirats Arabes Unis)

5 2680± 30 BP; between 897-801 B.C. with 95.4 % of probability and between 844 and 804 with 60.7 % of

probability.

J. Charbonnier

123

Fig. 16 The irrigation channels north of St 481 (Masafı) : phase III (A), phase II (B) and phase I (C) ( Julien Charbonnier, Mission Archeologique Francaise

aux Emirats Arabes Unis)

Groundwater

managem

entin

Southeast

Arab

ia

123

gradually built up south of it. The small channels remind the irrigation channels visible in

the present-day palm grove of Masafı. Recent levelling north of sector 1 has unfortunately

destroyed the gardens associated with them.

Fig. 17 West section in Trench B (Masafı) and relation between floor S 1035 and Wall 485 (© Julien

Charbonnier, Mission Archeologique Francaise aux Emirats Arabes Unis)

Fig. 18 Iron Age II sherds at the

surface of floor S 1035 (Masafı)

(© Julien Charbonnier, Mission

Archeologique Francaise aux

Emirats Arabes Unis)

J. Charbonnier

123

St 481 looks like the downstream end of a falaj (see above Hılı 15) and could perhaps

have drained groundwater from the edge of the mountains east of the valley. In the absence

of its upstream part, now buried under if not destroyed by modern houses, it is however not

Fig. 19 East section of Trench North (Masafı) and position of US 45 (© Julien Charbonnier, Mission

Archeologique Francaise aux Emirats Arabes Unis)

Fig. 20 Plan of falaj M46 at

Maysar (after Weisgerber 1981:

Fig. 3)


123

possible to confirm this. There is also a possibility that it conveyed surface water or that it

was fed by a well, maybe artesian. Artesian conditions in the past can be assumed in

Masafı based upon interviews of older inhabitants of the oasis and a preliminary geo-

morphological study. Indeed, we discovered a late Islamic abandoned well south of the

palm grove that, according to the inhabitants of Masafı, was supplied with water after

rainfall events, causing a rise of the water table. At that point, the water then flowed into a

tunnel and then a channel that fed a large basin located 150 m to the west (Charbonnier and

Purdue 2012, paper given to the 45th Seminar for Arabian Studies in London).

Maysar (Oman)

The shafts holes of falaj Maysar M46 are visible on a few kilometres in the wādī Samad

(Fig. 20), southeast of the al-H˙ajar chain (Sultanate of Oman). This structure still provides

water for the al-Maysar oasis and has therefore not been excavated. Weisgerber suggested

an Iron Age date for this falaj, based on the fact that it seemed to reach the Iron Age site

M42 located upstream of the present-day oasis. Next to this settlement, Weisgerber and his

team discovered a site made of low stones heaps (M49) that, according to him, represent

the remains of circular mounds retaining water at the foot of each palm tree (some of these

have been excavated and were not graves) (Weisgerber 2005, p. 79).

He argued that at some point after construction the bottom of the gallery was lowered

(in order to adjust to the drop of the water table) and extended downstream to supply a new

site, M43 (Samad period, 300 B.C. to 350 AD) (Weisgerber 1981, p. 245; Weisgerber and

Yule 1999, p. 98; Weisgerber 2005, pp. 78–80). M42 and M43 are indeed both located

along M46. In the 1980s, the gallery of this falaj collapsed and G. Weisgerber noticed that

its ceiling was less than 1 m from the present surface just upstream of M42. According to

him, M46 could therefore have fed this Iron Age settlement (Weisgerber 2005, p. 79).

However, this does not necessarily mean that the bottom of the gallery was also close to the

surface; it could have been much deeper from the beginning, indicating that the water was

flowing out of the surface further downstream.

FalajM46 is therefore not firmly dated from the Iron Age. No attempt has been made to

excavate the area around site M42 in order to find channels that could have been related to

the falaj and that could be dated by stratigraphy.

Four other structures, surveyed or only partially excavated, are dated to the Iron Age

with even less certainty. The only argument given by al-Tikriti for dating these three aflāj

is the fact that they are located near an Iron Age site.

Al-Ayaay (U.A.E.)

At wādī al-Ayaay, about 30 kilometres north of al-‘Ayn oasis, several shafts were noticed

during a survey near an Iron Age site (al-Tikriti 2010, p. 235). The shafts are circular and

about 50 cm in diameter (al-Tikriti 2002b, pp. 114–115).

Dhahret al-Hasa (U.A.E.)

Three shafts hole have been excavated by the team of W. al-Tikriti in Dhahret al-Hasa, also

north of al-‘Ayn. They run through a site that consists only of a few hearths, although many

Iron Age sherds are visible at the surface. Sherds of the same period have also been found

in the underground gallery of the structure (al-Tikriti 2010, pp. 235–237).

J. Charbonnier

123

Al-Jabīb (U.A.E.)

Located 50 km north of al-‘Ayn, al-Jabıb falaj is visible for several hundred meters and

may be associated with a site located a few kilometres to the west. This site has not been

excavated but sherds suggest an Iron Age date. According to W. al-Tikriti, the contem-

poraneity of the site and of the falaj could be confirmed by the comparison between the

depth of the gallery and the distance to the site (al-Tikriti 2002a, p. 131). One of the shafts

has been rapidly excavated confirming the fact that this structure is a falaj.

Iz0747, Izkī (Oman)

J. Schreiber discovered site Iz0747 during a survey. It is located northeast of the oasis of

Izkı, near a tributary of wādī H˙alfayn. Pottery sherds collected on its surface date it to the

Iron Age II (Haser 2010, p. 163). The shaft holes of a falaj are visible on about 400 m.

They seem to bypass the site, which suggests, according to J. Schreiber, that the falaj also

dates from the Iron Age (Schreiber 2007, p. 136).

Wells

A well was discovered in the Iron Age settlement of Tell Abraq (Magee 1995: Fig. 8.5). W.

al-Tikriti mentions two wells 3.6 and 5 m deep excavated in the site of Dhahret al-Hasa (al-

Tikriti 2010, p. 237).

Al-Mādam (U.A.E.)

A 7 m deep well was excavated on the site al-Madam 1 (Fig. 9) about 10 m east of House

1. It is located inside the enclosure attached to this house. The stratigraphic relationship

between the edge of the well, the enclosure and the house confirms their contemporaneity.

The well was dug and used at the end of Iron Age II and during Iron Age III (Cordoba and

Del Cerro 2005, p. 519).

The well is rectangular with rounded corners in plan and its bottom is dug into the

bedrock. Small notches carved into the well’s side allowed one to reach its bottom in order

to clean it. The excavators think that water was drawn from it with the help of a rope

attached to the top of a structure consisting of three trunks. According to them, this is

suggested by the plan of the edge of the well and by the stratigraphy outside of the well but

they do not provide further explanation (Cordoba and Del Cerro 2005, p. 519).

A small basin located next to the edge of the well was probably intended to provide

water to the livestock. Indeed, husbandry seems to have constituted the main economy of

AM-1, as suggested by the important amount of sheep and goat bones found during the

excavation, the large enclosures around the houses, and the absence of silos and of storage

jars (Cordoba and Del Cerro 2005, p. 518).

Two other wells have been identified next to structure 6. They are associated to a

900 m2 flat area of bedrock that was devoted to the manufacturing of mudbricks (Fig. 9).

Channels cross this sort of platform. Mudbricks, complete and fragmentary, were dis-

covered on the platform. Many children’s footprints were found at the surface of piles of

mud and mudbrick fragments located in small basins at the northeast corner of the plat-

form. Adult footprints and fingerprints were also discovered suggesting that these basins

were used to crush old mudbricks in order to reuse them (Cordoba and Del Cerro 2005, pp.


123

520–521; Cordoba 2013, pp. 144–146). Water, drawn from the wells, was required to

prepare the mudbricks that were used to build the houses of AM-1. The area can be dated

from the Iron Age II thanks to the numerous sherds found during the excavation and

because it is abutting the Iron Age house 6 (Cordoba 2013: Fig. 6.2). The area wasn’t

reoccupied during the Islamic period.

Qattārah (al-‘Ayn, U.A.E.)

Until a few years ago, no wells associated with Iron Age gardens and fields had been

recorded in Southeast Arabia. The excavation led at Bayt Bin ‘Atı al-Darmakı,6 south of

Qattarah oasis in al-‘Ayn, uncovered a stratigraphic sequence spanning from the beginning

of the Iron Age to the Late Islamic period (Power and Sheehan 2012: 296). Several

trenches were opened in which P. Sheehan and T. Power have distinguished five main

phases: an industrial installation dating from the beginning of the Iron Age was first

established on the bedrock; it was then replaced by fields (Iron Age II); the area is

thereafter devoted to copper production (Iron Age); in the Early Islamic period, a settle-

ment made of perishable materials occupied the area; mudbrick houses were finally built in

the Late Islamic period (Power and Sheehan 2011, p. 267).

Here, I will concentrate on the deepest layers. At the beginning of the Iron Age

(Horizon 1), a large basin was dug in the shallow ground in order to reveal the bedrock

surface in which square tanks, regularly spaced out, were cut (unearthed in the Workshop

trench). The tanks are c. 45 on one side and c. 50 cm deep, with vertical sides and flat

bottoms. Channels of c. 20 cm wide and c. 3 cm deep connect them together. Located at the

northern end of the large basin, a 3 m deep well probably provided water to this instal-

lation. The fact that water was flowing from one tank to another through the channels is

suggested by the fact that the bedrock slopes from the north to the south, the well being

located upstream. The tanks were kept clean before their abandonment and their fill

contained neither organic material nor any element suggesting agriculture (Power and

Sheehan 2011, p. 271). Power and Sheehan suggest that these structures were associated

with an industrial activity: dying, tanning or copper processing for example. Although no

slag was recovered during the excavation, they have a preference for copper production.

Indeed after the ore is heated in order to remove carbon dioxide, the remaining copper

oxide is heated again in the presence of carbon. The oxygen is in this way removed. At that

point it is necessary to plunge it into water in order to separate silicate and carbonated

scum, which will float at the surface, from copper. This process can be repeated several

times. The tanks recovered in Bin ‘Atı could have been used for this last operation (Power

and Sheehan 2011, p. 272).

Later, during the Iron Age II, the area was devoted to agriculture (Horizon 2). A ditch

was found in a trench located south of the Late Islamic buildings and the “workshop

trench” (made prior to the building of the Energy Centre). The ditch, oriented northwest–

southeast, exhibits a ‘V’-shaped section and is 0.80 m wide for 1.50 m deep. Four sub

circular basins (c. 2 m in diameter and 1 m in depth) are distributed along the ditch. Close

to some of them were discovered small curvilinear channels. According to Power and

Sheehan, the ditch was providing water to the basins from which water was brought to the

crops by means of channels (Power and Sheehan 2011, p. 272). The fact that the ditch and

6 This excavation was led in the context of the renovation of Bayt Bin ‘Atı al-Darmakı and the construction

of an art centre by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage inside this building.

J. Charbonnier

123

the channels run below the ground level is surprising however; irrigation channels are

generally built above the ground so the water can reach the fields by gravity.

Above the large basin of Horizon 1, in the Workshop trench, small channels (c. 12 cm

wide and 2 cm deep) were built (Horizon 2a) on a “mid-yellowish brown fine silty sand”

(Power and Sheehan 2011, p. 272). They could have been used to irrigate some crops.

Just above and in the Energy Centre trench (Horizon 2b), similar channels were

unearthed but this time associated with two wells. In the Workshop trench the well, located

next to the one of Horizon 1, is 1.84 9 2.35 wide.

More information on Iron Age agricultural practices comes from Horizon 2c in the

Workshop trench. Indeed, circular earth structures, c. 3 m wide and 12 cm deep, arranged

in rows were unearthed. In the center of each of these basins was located a pit of about

50 cm in diameter and 35 cm deep that could correspond to a root bowl (Fig. 21). Ashes

seem to have been added to the earth in the pits (Power and Sheehan 2011, p. 272). In the

Energy centre area, similar structures and a well of about 3 m in diameter and 4.5 m deep

were found. Two intact Iron Age II vessels were for example found at the bottom of this

well (Power and Sheehan 2011: 273).

The circles surrounding these pits correspond, according to the excavators, to circular

basins that allowed for the irrigation of each tree separately. Power and Sheehan note that

the root bowls were too small for palm trees (Power and Sheehan 2011, p. 272). I will also

stress the fact that, in the oases of Southeast Arabia, palm trees are generally not sur-

rounded by circular basins. They are thus irrigated at the same time as the other crops.

Circular basins are however generally dug around juvenile palm trees.

In Horizon 3, the irrigation structures of Horizon 2 were not in use anymore and the area

was devoted to copper production (Power and Sheehan 2011, p. 273).

The structures unearthed in Bin ‘Atı are dated from the Iron Age according to the

stratigraphy. Iron Age material has been recovered during the excavation of Horizon 1, 2

and 3. During this period, the evidence shows that wells were used for irrigation and

industrial activities in the area but we must keep in mind that the excavation in Bin ‘Atı

concerned a relatively small surface.

Fig. 21 Tree pits of Horizon 2C (background) above the rock-cut tanks of Horizon 1 (foreground) (Power

and Sheehan 2011: Fig. 6)


123

Discussion: where did the water come from used during the Bronze and Iron Ages?

The review of the corpus of excavated hydraulic structures allows us to make some

statements concerning the history of water management in Southeast Arabia. Several aflāj

have been dated to the Iron Age and some scholars have linked the development of this

technology with the increase of sites noticed at the beginning of the Iron Age II (Magee

1998, 2000; al-Tikriti 2010) or the increase of aridity noticed during this period (Magee

2004). Other scholars have speculated about the appearance of falaj during the Early

Bronze Age (Cleuziou and Orchard). However, it is obvious that none of the aflāj exca-

vated in Southeast Arabia are dated with certainty from the pre-Islamic period, apart from

the one of al-Madam. Stratigraphic evidence is lacking and most of the structures are dated

based on their proximity with a Bronze or an Iron Age settlement.

The galleries of the aflāj, and the associated canals, hypothetically dated from the Iron

Age, are characteristically narrow (20–50 cm wide), but this is not restricted to the pre-

Islamic structures. The Islamic period aflāj excavated in Bat (falaj al-Sharsa) and Masafı

by the author were respectively 50–100 cm and 30–80 cm wide. The use of stone blocks to

build the sidewalls or to cover the galleries, as in Hılı, is also known for Islamic period

aflāj. It is necessary to reinforce canal sidewalls with stone blocks when the ground is

loose, such as in sandy or gravelly areas. Two examples are the aflāj of al- Sharsa, in Bat,

and Samad al-Shan, in wādī Samad, dug into alluvial sediments. Stone slabs cover even

their underground galleries (Charbonnier 2013; Weisgerber 2005, pp. 74–75: Fig. 27).

Conversely, the evidence for the use of wells has been completely overlooked. During

the Iron Age II, wells were however used in Bin ‘Atı to irrigate the plots and for craft

activities. One well discovered in al-Madam was associated to the manufacture of

mudbricks and another one could have provided water to the flocks. Wells were also found

in 3rd millennium sites, such as Hılı, Maysar or Bat. These Bronze Age wells were

probably not used to irrigate the fields, as they were located within the settlement. Nev-

ertheless, it is possible that wells were used for agricultural purposes, even if no well

associated with an irrigation system has so far been found. Furthermore, water table was

closer to the surface during the 3rd millennium B.C., maybe due to moister climatic

conditions in the first half of this millennium (see above) (Preston et al. 2012).

Before the advent of mechanical pumps, crops were irrigated with the help of wells in

some areas of Eastern Arabia, like the coastal region of the Batinah (Costa and Wilkinson

1987, pp. 43–53). Nowadays most of the plots are irrigated by wells in the oasis of Masafı

and many of them are ancient, as indicated by their construction technique. Only one falaj

has been recorded in the oasis while nine wells were still in use. The areas irrigated by the

wells range from 0.2 to 5 ha (for the artesian well).

Wells were perhaps used in the region around Mleıh˙a (occupied from the 3rd Century B.

C. to the 4th Century AD) on the western piedmonts of the U.A.E. (Mouton 1999, p. 272;

Boucharlat 2001, p. 160). The Nabatean city of Hegra, current Mada’in S˙alih

˙(Saudi

Arabia), depended on water supplied by wells. The city was surrounded by gardens fed by

scattered wells each of which could, according to J.-B. Rigot, have irrigated up to 3.2

hectares (Nehme et al. 2006, p. 71).

During the pre-Islamic period, in Southeast Arabia, it was perfectly possible to irrigate

the gardens in this manner, especially as the water table was only a few meters deep in

places such as Hılı, Bin ‘Atı or al-Madam.

No remains of lifting devices have been documented around the Bronze Age wells

found in Oman and U.A.E. Even if hoists and winches were not in use at that time, it was

possible to go down with the help of small notches cut into the rocky walls. Some were

J. Charbonnier

123

found in a well on the site of Mylouthkia, in Cyprus, dating back to the PPNB (Peltenburg

et al. 2000, pp. 846–848). Cleuziou mentions the presence of similar notches in the Bronze

Age wells of Hılı 8 (Cleuziou 2003, p. 19). The water could have been drawn from the

wells manually. J. Oleson thinks that the limit for extracting water this way is about 25 m

(Oleson 2000, p. 222). According to J. C. Wilkinson they can be up to 45 m deep at al-S˙ır

in Oman (Wilkinson 1977, p. 73). Even without a pulley, the rope could have been simply

pulled over a wooden beam (Weisgerber 2005, p. 65). The value of manual drawing should

therefore not be underestimated. According to J. C. Wilkinson, date palms (Phoenix

dactylifera L.) are irrigated only by means of this type of wells in some areas of Oman

(Wilkinson 1977, p. 73).

Even if water isn’t flowing by gravity from the wells and must be drawn, wells present

also some advantages compared to aflāj. Unlike a falaj, a well can be constructed and

maintained by a single family. It is therefore not necessary to share the water drawn from it

and to establish rules of water management. In the oases fed by wells, dwellings tend to be

scattered over the whole surface (Wilkinson 1977, p. 97). Plots are clustered around wells

with a radial network of canals extending outwards. Such an organization has also been

described by T. Wilkinson in the area of S˙oh˙ar, in the Omani Bat

˙ina. Abandoned wells

form mounds of varying sizes, depending on how water was acquired (human or animal

traction), and are more or less regularly spaced depending on the period (irrigation by well

is attested from the ninth to the twentieth century AD). Each well fed a garden (Costa and

Wilkinson 1987, pp. 43–53).

When the groundwater table is decreases, it takes a lot of energy and time to lower aflāj

tunnels and the irrigation systems (Weisgerber 2005, pp. 76–77). Wells bottom however

can be more easily lowered. Wells allow for the irrigation of vegetables or seasonal crops

at a small scale. The flow of a falaj is only available from time to time because it must be

shared between the inhabitants of the oasis while some crops need daily water supply.

Conclusion

The adoption of agriculture in Southeast Arabia followed an aridification process but

seems to have also been related to an increase in social complexity reinforced by the

development of copper exploitation and its exportation toward Mesopotamia and the Indus

valley. During the 3rd millennium B.C., Holocene lakes had dried up and vegetation cover

had reduced. Agriculture was necessary to sustain the population inland. Unfortunately, no

irrigation system dating back to this period has been discovered. Wells were common in

settlements, suggesting that this simple technique could have been also used for irrigating

crops.

Evidence from Hılı suggests that the water table was closer to the surface that now-

adays in some areas. The roots of date palms, which were already cultivated in Southeast

Arabia, can reach water up to 17 m below the surface. Feral palms grow on wādī banks,

near water ponds or springs without any irrigation. We may then wonder whether the date

palms were irrigated during the 3rd millennium B.C. Many of them could have benefited

from the close water table. Their productivity would have been lower but the labor

investment as well: only artificial pollination and vegetative propagation (planting of

suckers) would have been necessary to produce good quality dates. This hypothesis should

be given consideration.

We have no information on Wadi Suq/Late Bronze Age irrigation techniques but they

could have been in continuity with the 3rd millennium. In some places, the arid episode at


123

the end of this millennium could have led to the drop of the water table—as it seems to be

the case at Hılı—but we must keep in mind that wells can be deepened in order to adapt to

such an evolution.

At the beginning of Iron Age II, while aridity increased again, many new settlements

were created and some areas were repopulated. It has been suggested that the development

or introduction of the falaj technique is linked to this evolution: the falaj would have

initiated or sustained this process (al-Tikriti 2010, pp. 240–246). Evidence for its spread

across the whole region during the Iron Age are however debatable as most of the

structures are badly dated. We have suggested that wells could in fact have been used in

many places at that time.

Irrigation systems and associated garden spaces had never been discovered and exca-

vated until recently. With the result of the excavation in Masafı and in Bin ‘Atı, we have

more information about Iron Age field systems. Unfortunately, these operations concerned

very limited areas. Yet they show that archaeology of gardens is possible and provides

some indication about agricultural practices, agrosystems (types of crops grown, organi-

sation of gardens, type of water resources used etc.), irrigation techniques and the evolution

of the environment (vegetation cover, climate and water resources).

Acknowledgments Above all, the author would like express his gratitude to the organiser of the workshop

“Deriver les eaux… le canal a travers les ages” held in Lyon in May 2012: Louise Purdue, Ferreol Salomon,

Jean-Francois Berger and Jean-Philippe Goiran. I also would like to deeply thank Anne Benoist (director of

the Masafı archaeological project) and Sophie Mery (director of the French Archaeological Mission in the

U.A.E.). And finally thanks to Daniel Lawrence and Andrew Blair for comments on the early drafts.

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