|
|
|
|
Yemen.
On the left, at the bottom of the marbid the stone walls which
organize the terraced slope and collect humidity. On the right,
the stone walls and dams called harrah which share out the water
quotas.
|
|
| Yemen,
a large system of organization of valleys by means of water devices.
Along the natural water course the dams called masraf intercept
the flows running down the steepest slope and deviate them towards
the cultivated terraces on both sides. |
|
| Yemen.
Ploughing the soil enables the field to absorb the humidity from
the atmosphere. Below, the water distribution to the fields by means
of a device which conveys water through a hole, the iglamah. |
 |
| Yemen,
terracing system for the protection and cultivation of the slope.
The water intakes deviate the flows from their natural course and
direct them along the walls on the terraces. Towers and stone buildings
are placed to defend the cultivations. |
|
| In
Petra (Jordan) the stone terracing systems called khaur, typical
of the Nabatean agriculture used in the Negev desert, are still
visible. In rural environments, they are mere semi-circular terracing
systems which retain the soil, whereas in urban areas they are more
complex building systems. Some examples of these systems made with
carbon layers to filter water and make it fit for drinking have
been discovered. |
|
|
|
|
|
Shibam
(Yemen). The ancient dam was not used to create an open-air basin
but rather to direct the floods (figure below) to the embankments,
the channels and the depressions in the gardens.
|
|
|
Mounds
of stones in the shape of a crescent, circles and rows of stones,
found during archaeological excavations in the Hedomite and Nabatean
hydroagriculture, common in all arid and Mediterranean areas for
plant preservation.
|
|
|
Thula
(Yemen), reconstruction of water harvesting systems, open-air
cisterns, underground cavities and tunnels which from the citadel
provide the terraced gardens and the ablution rooms of the mosque
with water. The hydraulic installation still in use is very similar
to that of the ancient Sabean towns.
|
|
|
A
proposal for rebuilding the water system and the tilled terraces
of wadi al-Mataha (Petra). The restoration of the ecosystem and
the revival of the vegetation are not only a new archaeological
attraction managed by the bedu groups, but also the defence of
the environment against the erosion and demolition of the sandstone
walls.
|
|
