Handbook of Ancient Water Technology

Abstract

A magisterial new handbook replaces the discussion of water technology in antiquity in R.J. Forbes Studies in Ancient Technology and the first two volumes of A History of Technology, edited by Charles Singer et al. It surveys water use and water technology in an area from Mesopotamia to the Atlantic Ocean, from the beginning of the Neolithic period up to ca. A.D. 600, based on the archaeological and written evidence. 11 authors from very different backgrounds and with varying scholarly perspectives discuss the socio-economic background, irrigation and drainage, water supply, water in recreation (fountains, baths, etc.), larger hydraulic works (canals and sluices, dams, drainage), water-power, water legislation and the administration of water resources. This handbook incorporates the results of four decades of historical research, important archaeological finds, extensive theoretical debate in a precise, up-to-date and reliable way and offers scholars and students a new basis for discussion of technical progress in antiquity.

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