Ancient water technologies that changed the history of the planet
StuffThatMatters: Science & Technology
Water is one of the most crucial resources for any civilization, and the world as a whole. Cultures have perished in history, because of drying up of rivers, while whole nations crumbled because of excessive rainfall, Tsunamis and oceanic disasters. That is why, the ancient cultures of the world had to rely on sophisticated technologies and engineering, to make efficient use of water, or risk drying up themselves.
Here, I list 5 really simple, but amazingly innovative technologies, that our ancients had developed for water management. I don't include the very common water wheel stuff, for obvious reasons. And obviously, the size limit of the post doesn't give me room to describe each and every technology, but these 5 technologies were definitely among the topmost innovations of the ancient period.
1. Aqueducts (India, Greece, Roman empire)
The earliest aquedacts have been discovered in the Indian subcontinent, centred around the Tungabhadra river, as well as around the IVC (Indus Valley Civilization) region in the north-western part of the subcontinent. The IVC was a very sophisticated civilization in terms of technology and innovation, and their city layouts consisted of a central citadel and a surrounding lower town or down town. Rectangular layout of the IVC cities helped build and sustain large aqueducts, which made use of descending gradients to carry waste water away from the city.
The largest early aqueducts in India were as long as 25 km in length, centred around modern day Hampi. Similar designs had also been built independently (this is debatable, though) in west Asia, Egypt and Greece back then.
However, the aqueduct technology reached its peak with the Roman empire. Romans built some of the largest aqueducts of the ancient world, breaking the Indian record (although this was at least 1500 years after the first Indian aqueducts). More than 10 aqueducts served the capital region of Rome during the peak of imperial Rome, and carried water from nearly 92 kilometers away, into the city. And this was wholly done with the force of gravity alone, with distribution tasks built to act as supply storages in between. The slope of these channels could be around 30:1, i.e every 30 metres would see a 1 m descent.
2. Shaduf (Egypt)
In ancient Egypt, the Nile was the source of most of the water required by the people. In the fertile valleys on the twin sides of the Nile, agriculture demanded a fast, easy and effective method of irrigation. For this, the Shaduf was developed.
The Shaduf is actually a modification of the lever, and employs a very large mechanical advantage. It consists of a pole balanced on a crossbeam, with a bucket attached to one end of the pole with rope. The farmer would pull the rope to bring the bucket down, immerse the bucket in water and loosely hold the rope as the pole balances back to its original position, thereby lifting the bucket-full of water. This allowed the ancient farmers to irrigate their fields without much effort, as opposed to manually lifting the bucket.
In drier seasons, when the water level in the Nile became lower, longer poles and ropes could be used for immersing the bucket. In later models, the poles could also be swung around, to empty the water in another part of the farm.
3. Stepwells (India)
Since the foundation of the Indo-Aryan civilization in north-western India, the Indians faced a tremendous problem of water-scarcity in the region, especially because of the low rainfall in the arid parts. This forced the ancient Indian engineers to develop what are called stepwells, cylindrical tanks that extend deep into the water table below, and protected from the scorching heat with the help of constructed roofs.
The earliest stepwells were developed in the 2nd century AD, although Moenjodaro of the IVC did have a few structures that were similar to stepwells in design.
The stepwells are named so, because they have stones cut in the form of steps that lead to the central well. During the monsoon months, rainwater is naturally harvested, and it replinishes the water level. Covers are built to protect the water from external agents. When water level rises sufficiently, the we have to descend less, to get the water.
Other than acting as fresh water reserves, stepwells also had great religious and cultural significance. People of the rural communities often gathered in the buildings to enjoy the cooler summer noons, thanks to the dampening and cooling effect of the site.
4. Artificial canals (China)
In the 4th century BCE, Chinese rulers saw the need to connect the natural waterways of China, especially the Yangtze river in the south, and the Huai river in the north. This made the Chinese builders find a way, through marshes and lakes in between, to construct the world's first full-fledged artifically built canal connecting the two rivers. This provided the much needed waterway for transport in China.
Today, the Grand Canal of China is the longest artificially built canal in the world, covering more 1776 kilometres of extent.
5. Inverse siphons (Roman empire)
The previously mentioned aqueducts were of great important to the Romans, especially those dwelling in Rome itself. Since Rome contained lots of public bathhouses, fountains etc it needed a large amount of water, not all of which was readily available in the neighbourhood. As such, the Romans built giant aqueducts with inverse siphon mechanisms and collecting tanks, to use a practical version of Pascal's principle.
The inverse siphons were put in place where the natural terrain did not support building continuous aqueducts. At first, water from the higher portion of the aqueduct would deposit at the first collecting tank, which would then build up more pressure, forcing water into the pipes connecting the first collecting tank to the second. First, the water would descend, and then it would rise to the level of the second collecting tank, and then continue its journey along the remaining extent of the aqueduct.
Conclusion
As in one history channel documentary mentioned, the ancients were no fools. What they built may seem too childish and simple to us anyway, but back in those periods, those inventions and innovations were what kept the forward march of the human civilization intact. In fact, it would be better for us to learn from their simpler approaches to life, and incorporate this element of simplicity into our designs.
Maybe it's remotely similar to a practical version of Occam's razor.
References
http://ift.tt/1tFLAo9
http://ift.tt/1tFLAoc
http://ift.tt/1tFLCfO
#history #technology #interesting #science #water
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StuffThatMatters: Science & Technology
Water is one of the most crucial resources for any civilization, and the world as a whole. Cultures have perished in history, because of drying up of rivers, while whole nations crumbled because of excessive rainfall, Tsunamis and oceanic disasters. That is why, the ancient cultures of the world had to rely on sophisticated technologies and engineering, to make efficient use of water, or risk drying up themselves.
Here, I list 5 really simple, but amazingly innovative technologies, that our ancients had developed for water management. I don't include the very common water wheel stuff, for obvious reasons. And obviously, the size limit of the post doesn't give me room to describe each and every technology, but these 5 technologies were definitely among the topmost innovations of the ancient period.
1. Aqueducts (India, Greece, Roman empire)
The earliest aquedacts have been discovered in the Indian subcontinent, centred around the Tungabhadra river, as well as around the IVC (Indus Valley Civilization) region in the north-western part of the subcontinent. The IVC was a very sophisticated civilization in terms of technology and innovation, and their city layouts consisted of a central citadel and a surrounding lower town or down town. Rectangular layout of the IVC cities helped build and sustain large aqueducts, which made use of descending gradients to carry waste water away from the city.
The largest early aqueducts in India were as long as 25 km in length, centred around modern day Hampi. Similar designs had also been built independently (this is debatable, though) in west Asia, Egypt and Greece back then.
However, the aqueduct technology reached its peak with the Roman empire. Romans built some of the largest aqueducts of the ancient world, breaking the Indian record (although this was at least 1500 years after the first Indian aqueducts). More than 10 aqueducts served the capital region of Rome during the peak of imperial Rome, and carried water from nearly 92 kilometers away, into the city. And this was wholly done with the force of gravity alone, with distribution tasks built to act as supply storages in between. The slope of these channels could be around 30:1, i.e every 30 metres would see a 1 m descent.
2. Shaduf (Egypt)
In ancient Egypt, the Nile was the source of most of the water required by the people. In the fertile valleys on the twin sides of the Nile, agriculture demanded a fast, easy and effective method of irrigation. For this, the Shaduf was developed.
The Shaduf is actually a modification of the lever, and employs a very large mechanical advantage. It consists of a pole balanced on a crossbeam, with a bucket attached to one end of the pole with rope. The farmer would pull the rope to bring the bucket down, immerse the bucket in water and loosely hold the rope as the pole balances back to its original position, thereby lifting the bucket-full of water. This allowed the ancient farmers to irrigate their fields without much effort, as opposed to manually lifting the bucket.
In drier seasons, when the water level in the Nile became lower, longer poles and ropes could be used for immersing the bucket. In later models, the poles could also be swung around, to empty the water in another part of the farm.
3. Stepwells (India)
Since the foundation of the Indo-Aryan civilization in north-western India, the Indians faced a tremendous problem of water-scarcity in the region, especially because of the low rainfall in the arid parts. This forced the ancient Indian engineers to develop what are called stepwells, cylindrical tanks that extend deep into the water table below, and protected from the scorching heat with the help of constructed roofs.
The earliest stepwells were developed in the 2nd century AD, although Moenjodaro of the IVC did have a few structures that were similar to stepwells in design.
The stepwells are named so, because they have stones cut in the form of steps that lead to the central well. During the monsoon months, rainwater is naturally harvested, and it replinishes the water level. Covers are built to protect the water from external agents. When water level rises sufficiently, the we have to descend less, to get the water.
Other than acting as fresh water reserves, stepwells also had great religious and cultural significance. People of the rural communities often gathered in the buildings to enjoy the cooler summer noons, thanks to the dampening and cooling effect of the site.
4. Artificial canals (China)
In the 4th century BCE, Chinese rulers saw the need to connect the natural waterways of China, especially the Yangtze river in the south, and the Huai river in the north. This made the Chinese builders find a way, through marshes and lakes in between, to construct the world's first full-fledged artifically built canal connecting the two rivers. This provided the much needed waterway for transport in China.
Today, the Grand Canal of China is the longest artificially built canal in the world, covering more 1776 kilometres of extent.
5. Inverse siphons (Roman empire)
The previously mentioned aqueducts were of great important to the Romans, especially those dwelling in Rome itself. Since Rome contained lots of public bathhouses, fountains etc it needed a large amount of water, not all of which was readily available in the neighbourhood. As such, the Romans built giant aqueducts with inverse siphon mechanisms and collecting tanks, to use a practical version of Pascal's principle.
The inverse siphons were put in place where the natural terrain did not support building continuous aqueducts. At first, water from the higher portion of the aqueduct would deposit at the first collecting tank, which would then build up more pressure, forcing water into the pipes connecting the first collecting tank to the second. First, the water would descend, and then it would rise to the level of the second collecting tank, and then continue its journey along the remaining extent of the aqueduct.
Conclusion
As in one history channel documentary mentioned, the ancients were no fools. What they built may seem too childish and simple to us anyway, but back in those periods, those inventions and innovations were what kept the forward march of the human civilization intact. In fact, it would be better for us to learn from their simpler approaches to life, and incorporate this element of simplicity into our designs.
Maybe it's remotely similar to a practical version of Occam's razor.
References
http://ift.tt/1tFLAo9
http://ift.tt/1tFLAoc
http://ift.tt/1tFLCfO
#history #technology #interesting #science #water
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