GRST 321 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Shadoof, Nilometer, Water Conservation

• School: University of Calgary
• Department: Greek and Roman Studies
• Course: GRST 321
• Professor: Lesley Bolton

Document Summary

There are(cid:374)"t (cid:373)a(cid:374)(cid:455) e(cid:454)a(cid:373)ples of usi(cid:374)g (cid:449)ater as a stead(cid:455) po(cid:449)er sour(cid:272)e (cid:271)e(cid:272)ause it (cid:449)as u(cid:374)relia(cid:271)le. It is easier for humans to pull down on something instead of pushing it up, so many of the systems allow for this if they require something to be lifted up. Elements of hydraulics: water sources, water lifting, water conducting, water conservation. Urban water-supply systems: bronze age: mycenae and tiryns. Natural irrigation systems: whe(cid:374) the ri(cid:448)er o(cid:448)erflo(cid:449)s, it (cid:272)reates it"s o(cid:449)(cid:374) (cid:374)atural (cid:272)ha(cid:374)(cid:374)els a(cid:374)d people (cid:373)ight e(cid:454)te(cid:374)d those and build up the banks of the new channels to get the water to other places, levies and canals. Instead of the river just overflowing near the banks of the river, the water is transported to useful locations: mesopotamian canals, sediment deposited from floods acted as fertilizer. Nile valley: the nile floods pretty predictably (from south to north).