Date / Heure
Date(s) - 31/05/2017 - 02/06/2017
Toute la journée

Emplacement
Freie Universität

Catégories

Water Management, Climate, Technological Change and Social Contexts

International Conference and Workshop

May 31 – June 2, 2017

Venue: Topoi Building Dahlem, D-14195 Berlin

The main aim of the conference is to promote a disciplinary concept of archaeohydrology by three means: 1) to present examples of archaeohydrological research from oases and cities, 2) to evaluate methodological characteristics of the new subject in a workshop, discussing strategies of how to establish archaeohydrology as a research field in its own right, and 3) to identify basics for an „applied archaeohydrology“, i.e. in terms of using its results to establish rehabilitation programmes for sustainable water usage in deficit areas, as well as to promote heritage education and protection in this field.

Fieldwork undertaken in the Near East in recent years in arid environments and in ancient cities, as well as the cooperation in Research Cluster 2 of the German Archaeological Institute, have shown that a mere archaeological approach to hydraulic features (hydro-archaeology) may result in an insufficient understanding of water-related (infra-) structures. An understanding of excavated and non-excavated (landscape) hydraulic findings has all too often been provided by hydrological experts and hydro-engineers. For the first time, this conference will focus explicitly on ‘archaeohydrology’, a term that is still not commonly used. This meeting will bring together hydrological experts and archaeologists working on cultures from arid and/or irrigated lands: Archaeologists will profit from the expertise of hydro-engineers, while hydrologists will learn about the need to understand the cultural background of their fields of study.

It is intended that our meeting will be a kick-off for merging research efforts in real interdisciplinary working milieus, focussing on joint research questions, shared methods, and synergetic efforts.

Communication : Archaeohydrology of Masafi oasis (UAE): from the Early Iron age to the present-day :
Julien Charbonnier, Louise Purdue, Sophie Costa, Maël Crépy, Emmanuelle Régagnon, Carine Calastrenc and Thomas Sagory