Abstract
The principal water supply and distribution systems of the World Heritage site of Petra in Jordan were analyzed to bring forward water engineering details not previously known in the archaeological literature. The three main water supply pipeline systems sourced by springs and reservoirs (the Siq, Ain Braq, and Wadi Mataha pipeline systems) were analyzed for their different pipeline design philosophies that reflect different geophysical landscape challenges to provide water supplies to different parts of urban Petra. The Siq pipeline system’s unique technical design reflects use of partial flow in consecutives sections of the main pipeline to support partial critical flow in each section that reduce pipeline leakage and produce the maximum flow rate the Siq pipeline can transport. An Ain Braq pipeline branch demonstrated a new hydraulic engineering discovery not previously reported in the literature in the form of an offshoot pipeline segment leading to a water collection basin adjacent to and connected to the main water supply line. This design eliminates upstream water surges arising from downstream flow instabilities in the two steep pipelines leading to a residential sector of Petra. The Wadi Mataha pipeline system is constructed at the critical angle to support the maximum flow rate from a reservoir. The analyses presented for these water supply and distribution systems brought forward aspects of the Petra urban water supply system not previously known, revising our understanding of Nabataean water engineers’ engineering knowledge.
Highlights
The history of Petra’s monumental architecture and historical development has been described by many authors [1,2,3,4,5,6]
This paper was designed to add further depth to the hydraulic engineering technology used in the design and operation of Petra’s three major pipeline water supply systems serving the urban center of Petra: The Siq system sourced from the Ain Mousa spring, the Ain Braq system, and the Wadi Mousa system
Given the ~2.8-degree pipeline slope declination design option selected by Nabataean engineers and given an allowable input flow from the upper reservoir of 0.062 m3 /s for full-flow conditions into a long stretch of the 3.5 km pipeline upstream of point R in Figure 1, three criteria had to be met for acceptance of this design option:(1) An easy-to-build and maintain low reservoir that would provide observation of pipeline exit flows to check for flow problems; (2) a stable, high volume flow rate with an atmospheric pressure airspace above the water surface to eliminate hydrostatically pressurized connection joint leakage; and (3) easy access to the tomb structures for ritual events
Summary
The history of Petra’s monumental architecture and historical development has been described by many authors [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Water 2020, 12, 3498 engineering base underlying their water system designs and functions, the analysis of internal flow patterns within pipelines using CFD methodology presents a viable recourse to calculate, visualize, and analyze hydraulic engineering problems Nabataean hydraulic engineers encountered and solved in their piping network designs. Within the archaeological remains of Petra’s pipeline systems lies insight into Nabataean technical processes and the knowledge base available to their water engineers that served as the foundation for their engineering decision making. Use of CFD analysis provided graphic displays of problems encountered and solutions developed by Nabataean water engineers and helped to understand what lay behind field observations of archaeological remains relevant to Petra’s water supply and distribution systems. Descriptive terms from ancient texts describing hydraulic phenomena given in prescientific terms unfamiliar to western notations can be associated with actual phenomena through CFD modeling of the flow patterns through water conveyance structures
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