J. Jother et al.
Large hydraulic constructions allowed centuries of development of the first city of which there are records. All thanks to the Euphrates River – and human intelligence.
In the heart of the ancient Mesopotamia, in the Iraqi region of Eridu, scientists mapped a giant network of 4000 artificial channelsaccompanied by 700 Thursdays. All dated from a period prior to the first millennium ac.
According to the historic list of Sumerian kings, this is the oldest city in history.
Most irrigation structures (essential to the existence of cities, as they enable access to water from the Euphrates river) buried under river sedimentationwhich becomes an obstacle to the investigation.
And it was really this availability of water – or lack of it – that dictated the disappearance of the city: there was a change in Rio’s watercourse, explains the. Nevertheless, the Euphrates remained relatively stable over several centuries.
Analysis of water flow patterns, topography, current directions and the presence of hydraulic control structures (such as dikes and natural or artificial runs in rivers) allowed the authors published in Antiquity In February realize that These channels were, in fact, artificial, built by human hand.
They are 200 the main channels, Some up to 9 km long and between 2 to 5 meters wide, and over 4000 “secondary” channels, about 10 to 200 meters long. Its function was to distribute water to the agricultural lands.
Already the 700 quintasthey were also large buildings, ranging from 500 to 20,000 m2.
According to LBV, this discovery does not only prove the discovery of the oldest city that there are records, but also proves that the agriculture of ancient Mesopotamia depended not only on fertile soil, but also on intelligent hydraulic planning.
