From Human Niche Construction to Imperial Power: The Next Step in the Study of Ancient Iranian Water Systems
This seminar will address the following questions: the origins of water control, distribution & irrigation; the spread of the qanat; imperial power & water distribution methods; problems of water distribution and organization; the role of water in landscape development.
Monday 6th June, 11:00-17:00
Birley Room, Dawson Building, Department of Archaeology, Durham
11:00 Welcome
11:10 Prof. Tony Wilkinson (Durham University, UK) From Human Niche Construction to Imperial Power: Long-term trends in Iranian Water Management
11:50 Prof. Gavin Gillmore (Professor of Environmental Geoscience, Kingston University) Prehistoric water use on the Tehran Plain.
12:30 Dr. Remy Boucharalt (CNRS, Lyon) Water for pleasure, water for irrigation in the Pasargadae area.
13:10 Lunch
14:00 Dr. Maurits W. Ertsen (Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands) Hydraulic analysis of the Sad-i Didegan dam site and system (Pasargadae, Fars, Iran)
14:40 Prof. Peter Magee (Bryn Mawr College, USA) The Qanat as Arid Zone Adaptation: New evidence from Iran and the Arabian southeast.
15:20 Dr. Khodadad Rezakhani (London School of Economics and Political Science, UK) A comparative study of water-control systems in Khuzestan, Damghan and the Gurgan plains in the context of agricultural change in the late Sasanian period.
16:00 Concluding Comments: Future Developments in the Study of Ancient Iranian Water Systems
17:00 End