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3 avril 2018
- handle: 10670/1.65ry8s
- hal: hal-02195770
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Julien Charbonnier et al., « Long-term evolution of water supply in the oasis of Masafi (UAE): an archaeohydrological approach », HAL-SHS : archéologie, ID : 10670/1.65ry8s
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Since 2006, the work of the French Archaeological in the UAE has revealed that the area of Masafi(Fujairah), in the northern part of the Hajar mountains, had been settled from the 2nd millennium BC(Wadi Suq period, 2000-1600 BC) onwards. In particular, the valley was densely populated during theIron Age II (1100-600 BC) and during the Late Islamic period (after 1500 AD). In parallel, a paleoenvironmentalprogram has been set up since 2011 in order to retrace the history of the oasis andunderstand the respective role of social and environmental factors in its development. This program isnow funded by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (project OASIWAT, dir. L. Purdue). The presentpaper aims at addressing the specific question of the evolution of water supply on the long term, and itsimpact on settlement pattern in Masafi, as well as to discuss our multidisciplinary approach combiningarchaeology, geoarchaeology, geomorphology, geomatics, ethnography and absolute dating. Today, theoasis is mainly fed by drilled wells and water resources are located deep below the ground. Several abandoned hydraulic structures (wells, tanks and canals) were identified both on the surface and in testpits dug in the current palm grove and near the Iron Age site of Masafi-1. This approach has allowed us to put forward the evolution of water technology in Masafi over the last 3000 years. While both runoffs and groundwater, with the help of wells, were used to irrigate the fields during Protohistory, only the aquifers have been exploited during later periods: wells, springs and a qanat being attested during the Islamic period. Furthermore, our program has identified artesian conditions in the past, related to a specific geological setting. The ethnographic study has confirmed that these conditions maintained until the end of the 20th Century AD.