Ancient agricultural irrigation systems in the oasis of Ein Gedi, Dead Sea, Israel

Hadas, Gideon

doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2011.08.015

Cited by 21 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Given differences in scale and function, each settlement and installation type would have had a different impact on both its immediate environment and more distant locations (Goring-Morris & Belfer-Cohen, 2011); (b) hewn landscapes, such as cupmarks in bedrock and stone quarries (e.g., Grosman & Goren-Inbar, 2007;Dagan, 2011;Rosenberg & Nadel, 2014;Grosman & Goren-Inbar, 2016), wine and oil presses (Frankel, 2009), water wells, cisterns, water tunnels (Nir & Eldar, 1986;Tsuk, 2011); (c) agricultural terraces (e.g., Ron, 1966;Gibson, 2001;Davidovich et al, 2012;Gadot et al, 2016); (d) anthropogenic soils comprised of, for example, human refuse and manure (Bruins & Jongmans, 2012;Hadas, 2012;Shtienberg et al, 2017;Šmejda et al, 2017a,b;Paz et al, 2017); and (e) battlefield remains (e.g. Ackermann et al, 2005;Lewis, 2015 ).…”

Section: Physical Platformmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Anthropogenic soil was used to construct agricultural fields and terraces near Tel Yarmuth in the Shephelah during the Early Bronze Age III (~2,200-2,700 BCE) (Paz et al, 2017), in the Dead Sea oasis of Ein Gedi during the Byzantine period (5 th -6 th centuries CE) (Hadas, 2012), and in the agricultural area on the coastal plain of Caesarea (Shtienberg et al, 2017a,b) and the Yavnah dunefield (Roskin & Taxel, 2017). This soil was improved with homemade fertilizer from compost which included ash from ovens, animal and human excrement, and cultural material (fragments of pottery, glass and coins).…”

Section: Fig 8: Tel Lachish Archaeological Moundmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Paleo-Anthropocene and the Genesis of the Current Landscape of Israel

Ackermann

Maeir

Frumin

et al. 2017

Journal of Landscape Ecology

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Worldwide, human impact on natural landscapes has intensified since prehistoric times, and this is well documented in the global archaeological record. The period between the earliest hominids and the Industrial Revolution of the late 18-19 th centuries is known as the Paleo-Anthropocene. The current study reviews key geoarchaeological, floral and faunal factors of the Paleo-Anthropocene in Israel, an area that has undergone human activities in various intensities since prehistoric times. It discusses significant human imprints on these three features in the Israeli landscape, demonstrating that its current form is almost entirely anthropogenic. Moreover, some of the past physical changes still dynamically shape Israel's zoological, archaeological and geomorphic landscape today. It is hoped that insights from this article might aid in guiding present-day management strategies of undeveloped areas through renewal of human activity guided by traditional knowledge.

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Section: Physical Platformmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Fig 8: Tel Lachish Archaeological Moundmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Paleo-Anthropocene and the Genesis of the Current Landscape of Israel

Ackermann

Maeir

Frumin

et al. 2017

Journal of Landscape Ecology

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“…Ancient people understood the principles of gravity and possessed the technological ability to divert river water to the farming areas to irrigate farmlands, where irrigated agriculture developed in the river surroundings [1]. Our reconstruction of the past irrigation canals also implies that ancient people had the ability and techniques to transport river water into the farming areas to develop irrigated agriculture in the ancient Juyan Oasis during historical periods.…”

Section: Implications Of the Irrigation Canalsmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…As one of the main features and symbols of agricultural development in arid regions, artificial irrigation canals can be considered as the most important water conservancy facilities for irrigated agriculture. Previous studies implied that irrigation action has a long-term history in different arid regions throughout the world: the ancient agricultural irrigation systems in the Ein Gedi oasis of southeastern Israel during the Roman-Byzantine period (1st-6st centuries CE) [1]; the prehistoric irrigation canal system in North Coastal Peru during the Middle Sican (AD 900-1100) [2]; the irrigation canals in the upper Khuzestan plains of southwest Iran during the early 1st millennium CE [3]; the irrigation canals around the ancient Loulan kingdom during region with a mean annual precipitation of 35 mm and a potential evapotranspiration of 3755 mm . Consequently, it is impossible for water to accumulate as either groundwater or in rivers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ancient Irrigation Canals Mapped from Corona Imageries and Their Implications in Juyan Oasis along the Silk Road

Luo

et al. 2017

Sustainability

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Historical records and archaeological discoveries have shown that prosperous agricultural activities developed in the ancient Juyan Oasis of northwestern China, an important oasis that once flourished on the ancient Silk Road. However, how the irrigation canals were distributed in historical time was unknown. Here, we identified and mapped the spatial distribution of ancient abandoned irrigation canals that were built using CORONA photographs and field inspections. This work found that ancient irrigation canals are large-scale and distributed throughout the desertified environment, with three hierarchical organization of first-, second-, and third-order irrigation canals (the total length of the first-and second-order-irrigation canals is dramatically more than 392 km). This study further indicates that ancient irrigation methods and modern irrigation systems in arid regions of China share the same basic irrigation design. New visual and fine-scale evidence and spatial distribution of irrigation canals are provided to illustrate the development of the ancient irrigated agriculture that occurred in the Juyan Oasis. This work is useful for readers who are interested in the construction and organization approaches of irrigation canals used in ancient irrigated agriculture in arid regions. It also has implications for how ancient people balance the relationships between human needs and the eco-environment using reasonable water management methods, especially for decision-making in the efficient usage of limited water resources in the arid inland river basin.

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“…While only a fraction (terrestrial springs) of total groundwater discharge to the DS can actually be monitored by direct measurements, data of the main spring area (Ein Feshkha) suggest that the total groundwater discharge rate is decreasing (Galili 2012) accompanied by changes in the groundwater flow-system (Hadas 2011;Magal et al 2010). Extending the monitoring program along the entire DS coast (ca.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Localisation and temporal variability of groundwater discharge into the Dead Sea using thermal satellite data

et al. 2013

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The semi-arid region of the Dead Sea heavily relies on groundwater resources. This dependence is exacerbated by both population growth and agricultural activities and demands a sustainable groundwater management. Yet, information on groundwater discharge as one main component for a sustainable management varies significantly in this area. Moreover, discharge locations, volume and temporal variability are still only partly known. A multi-temporal thermal satellite approach is applied to localise and semi-quantitatively assess groundwater discharge along the entire coastline. The authors use 100 Landsat ETM ? band 6.2 data, spanning the years between 2000 and 2011. In the first instance, raw data are transformed to sea surface temperature (SST). To account for groundwater intermittency and to provide a seasonally independent data set DT (maximum SST range) per-pixel within biennial periods is calculated subsequently. Groundwater affected areas (GAA) are characterised by DT \ 8.5°C. Unaffected areas exhibit values[10°C. This allows the exact identification of 37 discharge locations (clusters) along the entire Dead Sea coast, which spatially correspond to available in situ discharge observations. Tracking the GAA extents as a direct indicator of groundwater discharge volume over time reveals (1) a temporal variability correspondence between GAA extents and recharge amounts, (2) the reported rigid ratios of discharge volumes between different spring areas not to be valid for all years considering the total discharge, (3) a certain variability in discharge locations as a consequence of the Dead Sea level drop, and finally (4) the assumed flushing effect of old Dead Sea brines from the sedimentary body to have occurred at least during the two series of

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Ancient agricultural irrigation systems in the oasis of Ein Gedi, Dead Sea, Israel

Cited by 21 publications

References 7 publications

The Paleo-Anthropocene and the Genesis of the Current Landscape of Israel

The Paleo-Anthropocene and the Genesis of the Current Landscape of Israel

Ancient Irrigation Canals Mapped from Corona Imageries and Their Implications in Juyan Oasis along the Silk Road

Localisation and temporal variability of groundwater discharge into the Dead Sea using thermal satellite data

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