Abstract
An underground aqueduct is usually a canal built in the subsurface to transfer water from a starting point to a distant location. Systems of underground aqueducts have been applied by ancient civilizations to manage different aspects of water supply. This research reviews underground aqueducts from the prehistoric period to modern times to assess the potential of achieving sustainable development of water distribution in the sectors of agriculture and urban management, and provides valuable insights into various types of ancient underground systems and tunnels. The review illustrates how these old structures are a testament of ancient people’s ability to manage water resources using sustainable tools such as aqueducts, where the functionality works by using, besides gravity, only “natural” engineering tools like inverted siphons. The study sheds new light on human’s capability to collect and use water in the past. In addition, it critically analyzes numerous examples of ancient/historic/pre-industrial underground water supply systems that appear to have remained sustainable up until recent times. The sustainability of several underground structures is examined, correlated to their sound construction and regular maintenance. Moreover, several lessons can be learned from the analysis of ancient hydraulic works, particularly now, as many periodically hydrologic crises have occurred recently, overwhelmingly impacted by climate change and/or over-exploitation and degradation of available water resources.
Highlights
Traditional underground hydro-technologies were constructed mainly for the exploitation of groundwater in arid areas
The qanats consist of large underground passageways excavated into the ground used for collecting groundwater, transporting it to lower elevation areas and delivering it to the surface, usually in plains with low water availability
Governments and stakeholders could have a crucial role by giving financial aid for the dredging of qanat systems, supervision of digging new wells and groundwater exploitation, compilation of rules concerning renovation and conservation of qanat systems as sustainable hydro-structures for water resources management
Summary
Traditional underground hydro-technologies were constructed mainly for the exploitation of groundwater in arid areas. Sustainable water supply facilities were erected, consisting mainly of well-developed aqueducts or other similar underground hydro-structures, in order to supply the town and their agricultural developments, showing that irrigated agriculture was practiced for many centuries in this region This analysis of ancient hydro-technology works provides valuable insight into the most significant underground systems: aqueducts of various types, qanats and associated hydraulic structures like cisterns, sewage systems, etc., and how they functioned. The chosen samples of hydro-technology are centered around the territories of Egypt, Middle East and the Mediterranean (plus three samples of exceptional qanat structures located in Peru, Tarim and Kerala and two samples of very specific underground aqueducts in Cuba and Japan) They are listed chronologically in the order of their construction. This review paper is organized in eight sections as follows: (a) the first section is introductory; (b) the second describes prehistoric times from ca 3200 to 1000 BC; (c) the third deals with the historical times until 330 AD; (d) the fourth refers to medieval times until ca 1400 AD (e); the fifth to early and mid-modern times until ca 1900 AD; (f) the sixth to the contemporary time; (g) the seventh discusses emerging trends, future issues and challenges on sustainability; and (h) the eighth provides concluding remarks
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