Drinking water storage strategies at Early Bronze Age Jawa (NE-Jordan):Experimental utilisation of archaeological, speleological and geophysical methods for the identification and exploration of natural cisterns

贾瓦早期青铜时代（约旦东北部）的饮用水储存策略：利用考古学、洞穴学和地球物理方法来识别和探索天然蓄水池的实验

• 批准号: 520997944
• 负责人: Dr. Bernd Müller-Neuhof
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Abteilung Orient
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Research Grants
• 资助国家: 德国
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/520997944?language=en
• 关键词: Drinking; water; storage; strategies; Early

The earliest evidence to-date for complex hydraulic systems in southwest Asia have been discovered in the direct vicinity of several Early Bronze Age hillfort sites in the basalt desert of northeastern Jordan. These systems collected local surface runoff during rainy seasons for irrigation purposes and stored water in open reservoirs. While water stored in open reservoirs can be used for watering livestock and domestic purposes, it is undrinkable for humans. The strategies as to how potable water was provided for the hillfort populations remain unexplained, and will be investigated in this project. The use of lava caves as natural cisterns is one possible strategy for storing potable water to be considered. Such lava caves, in which water naturally accumulates during rainy seasons and stays potable due to the exclusion of sunlight, have been identified at several spots in the basalt desert, where some of them are used for water supply even today by local Bedouin. Recent illicit looting at the Early Bronze Age hillfort site of Jawa exposed three natural caverns below the settlement surface and provides the first possible evidence for the presence of lava caves directly beneath the surface of a hillfort site. The aim of this project is the verification of this discovery by archaeo-speleological documentation and archaeo-hydrological investigation of these caves regarding their possible utilization as potable water cisterns. Additionally, for the adjustment respectively further development of geophysical methods for the localization of hidden lava caves several geophysical methods will experimentally be applied in test areas in the area around the identified caves at Jawa. In the event of a successful outcome the successful method(s) will be applied in a future project in the remaining areas of Jawa and at other contemporaneous hillfort sites in the Jordanian basalt desert. The control of natural potable water reservoirs in such arid environments provided a strategic advantage in the Early Bronze Age and was probably a major motivation for the construction of the fortification.

迄今为止，在约旦东北部玄武岩沙漠的几个早期青铜时代丘陵遗址附近，发现了亚洲西南部复杂液压系统的最早证据。这些系统在雨季收集当地地表径流用于灌溉，并将水储存在开放式水库中。虽然储存在露天水库中的水可用于喂养牲畜和家庭用途，但它不能供人类饮用。关于如何为hillfort人口提供饮用水的策略仍然无法解释，将在本项目中进行调查。利用熔岩洞穴作为天然蓄水池是一种可能的储存饮用水的策略。在玄武岩沙漠的几个地方已经发现了这样的熔岩洞，其中的水在雨季自然积累，并且由于没有阳光而保持饮用，其中一些甚至今天仍被当地的贝都因人用于供水。最近在爪哇早期青铜器时代的丘陵遗址进行的非法抢劫暴露了定居点表面下的三个天然洞穴，并提供了直接在丘陵遗址表面下存在熔岩洞穴的第一个可能证据。该项目的目的是通过对这些洞穴的考古洞穴文献和考古水文调查来验证这一发现，以确定它们作为饮用水蓄水池的可能性。此外，为了调整和进一步发展地球物理方法对隐伏熔岩洞穴的定位，将在爪哇已识别洞穴周围的试验区实验应用几种地球物理方法。如果取得成功的结果，将在爪哇其余地区和约旦玄武岩沙漠的其他同时期丘陵遗址的未来项目中应用成功的方法。在如此干旱的环境中控制天然饮用水库，在青铜时代早期提供了战略优势，可能是建造防御工事的主要动机。