“…Nevertheless, there is some evidence for their occurrence even under such environments, revealing human adaptation to extremely dry conditions in ancient times. An example is the runoff harvesting system in the Egyptian north-western coastal region, which enabled the irrigation of many terraced fields during the Greco-Roman period (Vetter et al, 2014). Also, in the hyper-arid regions of Saudi Arabia and Yemen, ancient runoff harvesting systems were prevalent (Harrower, 2009(Harrower, , 2010Oweis & Hachum, 2009).…”
“…Nevertheless, there is some evidence for their occurrence even under such environments, revealing human adaptation to extremely dry conditions in ancient times. An example is the runoff harvesting system in the Egyptian north-western coastal region, which enabled the irrigation of many terraced fields during the Greco-Roman period (Vetter et al, 2014). Also, in the hyper-arid regions of Saudi Arabia and Yemen, ancient runoff harvesting systems were prevalent (Harrower, 2009(Harrower, , 2010Oweis & Hachum, 2009).…”
“…Due to the slight but sufficient inclination of the Marmarica Plateau in the south, the runoff reached the catchment areas of the wadis on the tableland. The hydrological regime depended on the water coming from the south [99]. The parallel drainage systems of the wadis themselves, and the settlements along the escarpment, which divides the coastal strip from the tableland, do not depend on each other, even if they are spatially much closer than the plateau in the south.…”
Arid regions in the Old World Dry Belt are assumed to be marginal regions, not only in ecological terms, but also economically and socially. Such views in geography, archaeology, and sociology are—despite the real limits of living in arid landscapes—partly influenced by derivates of Central Place Theory as developed for European medieval city-based economies. For other historical time periods and regions, this narrative inhibited socio-economic research with data-based and non-biased approaches. This paper aims, in two arid Graeco-Roman landscapes, to show how far approaches from landscape archaeology and social network analysis combined with the “small world phenomenon” can help to overcome a dichotomic view on core places and their areas, and understand settlement patterns and economic practices in a nuanced way. With Hauran in Southern Syria and Marmarica in NW-Egypt, I revise the concept of marginality, and look for qualitatively and spatially defined relationships between settlements, for both resource management and social organization. This ‘un-central’ perspective on arid landscapes provides insights on how arid regions functioned economically and socially due to a particular spatial concept and connection with their (scarce) resources, mainly water.
“…This claim has, in recent years, been challenged by a number of surveys of the eastern Marmarica region between Mersa Matrouh and Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham (White 1999: 932; Hulin 2001: 74; Vetter et al . 2009, 2013, 2014; Rieger et al . 2012).…”
Section: Cereal Cultivation and Processing At Zawiyet Umm El-rakhammentioning
confidence: 99%
“…2013: fig. 13, 2014: 50–53). Figure 4. View of modern agriculture in wadis to the south of the site, looking south (photograph by S. Snape).…”
Section: Cereal Cultivation and Processing At Zawiyet Umm El-rakhammentioning
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