Three thousand years of river channel engineering in the Nile Valley

Abstract

Across a 1000-km stretch of the River Nile, from the 1st Cataract in southern Egypt to the 4th Cataract in Sudan, many hundreds of drystone walls are located within active channels, on seasonally inundated floodplains or in now-dry Holocene palaeochannel belts. These walls (or river groynes) functioned as flood and flow control structures and are of a type now commonly in use worldwide.In the Nile Valley, the structures have been subject only to localised investigations, and none have been radiometrically dated. Some were built within living memory to trap nutrient-rich Nile silts for agriculture, a practice already recorded in the early 19th century C.E. However, others situated within ancient palaeochannel belts indicate construction over much longer time frames. In this paper, we map the distribution of these river groynes using remote sensing and drone survey. We then establish their probable functions and a provisional chronology using ethnoarchaeological investigation and the ground survey, excavation and radiometric dating of the structures in northern Sudan, focusing on the Holocene riverine landscape surrounding the pharaonic settlement of Amara West (c. 1300-1000 B.C.E.). Finally, we consider the historical and economic implications of this form of hydraulic engineering in the Nile Valley over the past three millennia.

Development of water management strategies in southern Mesopotamia during the fourth and third millennium B.C.E.

“…Today, increasing emphasis on multidisciplinary approaches since the early 2000s (Geyer & Monchambert, 2014;Heyvaert et al, 2012;Jotheri et al, 2016;Morozova, 2005;Pournelle, 2003;Walstra et al, 2008;Wilkinson, 2003;Wilkinson & Jotheri, 2021;Wilkinson et al, 2015) has paved the way for a new season of research. Research in water management is also relevant in nearby areas, such as the Nile Valley (e.g., Dalton et al, 2023). This paper aims to provide new glimpses into the history of water management in early southern Mesopotamia from the perspective of an Iraqi-Italian QADIS survey project conducted in the eastern part of the Qadisiyah region between 2016 and 2020.…”

Late Holocene Climate Warming Events and Their Linkage to Hydraulic Engineering on the Coast of Hangzhou Bay, East China

“…During the Late Holocene, with the growing population and economic and technological advancements, humans responded to climate change more by modifying the natural environment. Hydraulic engineering was usually constructed to address the requirements of flood control, storm defense, as well as irrigation and water storage, especially for the agricultural societies [19][20][21][22]. Therefore, an objective assessment of major climate events during the Late Holocene and the response and adaptation strategies employed by human societies can offer valuable insights for addressing the current climate crisis.…”