A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
Water supply and distribution in the ancient Decapolis city of Gadara
Abstract The development of the ancient city of Gadara is strongly associated with its usable water resources: the city area could become more inhabitable only if sufficient water was available. Water resources were crucial for the city, which was located in the semiarid climate zone to the north of Jordan. During the city’s founding era in the Hellenistic period, this need for water could be met by collecting rainwater in cisterns. However, more water was needed for the continuing development of the city. This demand could only be achieved by connecting the city to springs located on higher grounds. For this purpose, a 30-km-long aqueduct called the Qanāt Turāb was built, and water was distributed through a complex system of tunnels in the inner city area. During the Roman Empire, the city became famous and experienced economic prosperity through trade. A new aqueduct, the 153-km-long Qanāt Fir’aun, was built to satisfy its extravagant need for water. This water supply system was used even after the fall of the Roman Empire, until a major earthquake in the eighth century AD inflicted severe damages in Gadara. Following this destruction, the Hellenistic cisterns once again became important for the water supply of the now-detached settlements. This study analyses Gadara’s water supply system and its hydraulics during the above-mentioned time periods—a 1000-year stretch—of the city’s history. The study unravels the manner in which water demand, water resources and technologies of the ancient city developed over time. Literature review and field data, surveyed between 2004 and 2011, form the basis for the analyses. Special attention is paid to the Roman period, when the water supply functioned through aqueducts. By analysing the different construction phases of the aqueduct tunnels and their interaction with the architecture, it is possible to reconstruct the development of the tunnel system and subsequently date it. The inner city’s water supply system of this period has been well preserved, which makes it possible to reconstruct the hydraulics. This study used the one-dimensional hydraulic software MIKE 11 to determine the water fluxes to the different city areas.
Water supply and distribution in the ancient Decapolis city of Gadara
Abstract The development of the ancient city of Gadara is strongly associated with its usable water resources: the city area could become more inhabitable only if sufficient water was available. Water resources were crucial for the city, which was located in the semiarid climate zone to the north of Jordan. During the city’s founding era in the Hellenistic period, this need for water could be met by collecting rainwater in cisterns. However, more water was needed for the continuing development of the city. This demand could only be achieved by connecting the city to springs located on higher grounds. For this purpose, a 30-km-long aqueduct called the Qanāt Turāb was built, and water was distributed through a complex system of tunnels in the inner city area. During the Roman Empire, the city became famous and experienced economic prosperity through trade. A new aqueduct, the 153-km-long Qanāt Fir’aun, was built to satisfy its extravagant need for water. This water supply system was used even after the fall of the Roman Empire, until a major earthquake in the eighth century AD inflicted severe damages in Gadara. Following this destruction, the Hellenistic cisterns once again became important for the water supply of the now-detached settlements. This study analyses Gadara’s water supply system and its hydraulics during the above-mentioned time periods—a 1000-year stretch—of the city’s history. The study unravels the manner in which water demand, water resources and technologies of the ancient city developed over time. Literature review and field data, surveyed between 2004 and 2011, form the basis for the analyses. Special attention is paid to the Roman period, when the water supply functioned through aqueducts. By analysing the different construction phases of the aqueduct tunnels and their interaction with the architecture, it is possible to reconstruct the development of the tunnel system and subsequently date it. The inner city’s water supply system of this period has been well preserved, which makes it possible to reconstruct the hydraulics. This study used the one-dimensional hydraulic software MIKE 11 to determine the water fluxes to the different city areas.
Water supply and distribution in the ancient Decapolis city of Gadara
Keilholz, Patrick (author)
Water History ; 9 ; 147-168
2017-02-06
22 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
Northern ’Ajlûn, 'within the Decapolis'
| UB Braunschweig | 1890
Ancient Roman city water supply
| Engineering Index Backfile | 1885
| BASE | 2019