Section: Social Complexity / Specialized Buildings
Variable: Drinking Water Supply System (All coded records)
Talking about Specialized Buildings, drinking water supply systems are polity owned (which includes owned by the community, or the state), NO_DESCRIPTIONS_IN_CODEBOOK  
Drinking Water Supply System
#  Polity  Coded Value Tags Year(s) Edit Desc
1 Ayutthaya unknown Suspected Expert 1596 CE 1633 CE
Falvey [1] writes of "the construction of the first storage irrigation system in 1633 in Ayutthaya, an echo of the Khmer storage barai". "Each water-based feature fulfilled several functions. Barays provided agricultural and domestic water, and fish and plant foods. Canals channeled water for public sanitation, and transport arteries. Embankments and dikes were usually oriented east-west following the contours and acted both as levees ti control floods and elevated causeways for roads. Moats surrounding temples, monuments, and inhabited areas also fulfilled several functions: they served as sacred boundaries, they were a source of domestic water and food, and they provided fill for foundations to raise the level of the terrain for drainage and protection. Access to domestic water was provided by tanks and basins dug into the water table.’ [2]

[1]: (Falvey 2000, p. 129)

[2]: (Engelhardt 1995, p.25)


2 Ayutthaya present Confident Expert 1633 CE 1767 CE
Falvey [1] writes of "the construction of the first storage irrigation system in 1633 in Ayutthaya, an echo of the Khmer storage barai". "Each water-based feature fulfilled several functions. Barays provided agricultural and domestic water, and fish and plant foods. Canals channeled water for public sanitation, and transport arteries. Embankments and dikes were usually oriented east-west following the contours and acted both as levees ti control floods and elevated causeways for roads. Moats surrounding temples, monuments, and inhabited areas also fulfilled several functions: they served as sacred boundaries, they were a source of domestic water and food, and they provided fill for foundations to raise the level of the terrain for drainage and protection. Access to domestic water was provided by tanks and basins dug into the water table.’ [2]

[1]: (Falvey 2000, p. 129)

[2]: (Engelhardt 1995, p.25)


3 Portuguese Empire - Early Modern absent Inferred 1640 CE 1706 CE
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4 Portuguese Empire - Early Modern present Confident 1707 CE 1807 CE
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5 Soviet Union present Confident Expert 1923 CE 1991 CE
The Moscow water supply system is the oldest engineering structure in the city. It was officially opened in 1804. The aqueduct in Rostokino, that supplied water to Moscow from Mytishchi, reminds one of that time.

The capital water supply history began in the 19th century with construction of the first water pipeline, a little more than 20 kilometers long. Today, the length of Moscow’s water supply networks exceeds 13 thousand kilometers, the city consumes about three million cubic meters of water daily, and Mosvodokanal, the largest water company in the country, is engaged in its preparation. [1]

[1]: “About Quality and Quantity: Seven Questions about Water Supply of Moscow / News / Moscow City Web Site,” Moscow City Web Site, accessed November 23, 2023, https://www.mos.ru/en/news/item/98140073/. Zotero link: WR2R5N6P


6 Southern Song present Inferred -
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7 Eastern Zhou present Inferred -
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8 Macedonian Empire present Inferred -
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9 Portuguese Empire - Renaissance Period absent Inferred -
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10 Grand Principality of Moscow, Rurikid Dynasty present Confident -
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11 Sena Dynasty present Confident -
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12 Almoravids present Confident -
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13 Avar Khaganate unknown Suspected -
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14 Axum II absent Inferred -
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15 Axum III absent Inferred -
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16 Banu Ghaniya unknown Suspected -
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17 Bulgaria - Early present Confident -
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18 Bulgaria - Middle present Confident -
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19 Chandela Kingdom present Confident -
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20 Chu Kingdom - Spring and Autumn Period uncoded Undecided -
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21 Chu Kingdom - Warring States Period present Inferred -
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22 Idrisids present Confident -
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23 Kamarupa Kingdom present Confident -
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24 Kangju unknown Suspected -
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25 Kazan Khanate unknown Suspected -
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26 Kingdom of Congo unknown Suspected -
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27 Makuria Kingdom I unknown Suspected -
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28 Makuria Kingdom II present Confident -
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29 Makuria Kingdom III present Confident -
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30 Malacca Sultanate unknown Suspected -
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31 Mauretania unknown Suspected -
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32 Numidia unknown Suspected -
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33 Ottoman Empire Late Period absent Confident -
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34 Sharqi present Confident -
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35 Songhai Empire present Confident -
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36 Sukhotai unknown Suspected -
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37 Tahert unknown Suspected -
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38 Tlemcen unknown Suspected -
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39 Wattasid unknown Suspected -
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40 Yueban unknown Suspected -
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41 Zagwe unknown Suspected -
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42 Zirids unknown Suspected -
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43 Yadava-Varman Dynasty present Confident -
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44 British Empire IIIIIIIIII present Confident Expert -
“As a revolution in urban governance swept Britain from the 1840s onward, a revolution in water supply and drainage infrastructure followed. The apogee of that movement was a water supply system called the gravitation scheme that reforming municipalities aspired to build. It entailed drastically reshaping landscapes in the hinterlands of cities by damming rivers, raising lakes, or flooding valleys and then piping water under pressure to sometimes distant cities; it also, promoters hoped, would reform urban environments and societies at the same time. Between 1840 and the end of the century, engineers in Britain executed it approximately one hundred times, but the gravitation scheme had a life beyond the bounds of Britain. In the second half of the nineteenth century, engineers—usually the very same individuals who had carried them out in Britain— introduced the scheme to cities such as Bombay, Colombo, Hong Kong, and Singapore. There, the gravitation scheme also had a transformative influence; it was a project of environmental and technical change that helped to solidify the modernizing colonial state.” [1]

[1]: Broich, Joseph. 2007. “Engineering the Empire: British Water Supply Systems and Colonial Societies, 1850-1900” Journal of British Studies 46: 347-365.


45 Egypt - Thebes-Hyksos Period absent Inferred Expert -
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46 Hallstatt A-B1 unknown Suspected Expert -
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47 Hallstatt B2-3 unknown Suspected Expert -
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48 Hallstatt C unknown Suspected Expert -
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49 Hallstatt D unknown Suspected Expert -
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50 La Tene A-B1 unknown Suspected Expert -
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51 La Tene B2-C1 unknown Suspected Expert -
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52 La Tene C2-D absent Inferred Expert -
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53 Warring States Japan unknown Suspected Expert -
present for preceding period but is the kind of costly infrastructure that could be quickly lost in difficult times.
54 Bronze Age Cambodia unknown Suspected Expert -
Not mentioned in sources.
55 Longshan absent Inferred Expert -
Water wells [1] , but some sort of pipe network is needed for drinking water supply system to be considered present.

[1]: (Demattè 1999, 124)


56 Monte Alban II present Confident Expert -
A wall was built to dam a reservoir in the northern section of Monte Alban. [1]

[1]: Flannery, K. V. and J. Marcus (1983). "The Cloud People." New York, p85


57 Kidarite Kingdom absent Inferred Expert -
During the Kushan period wells feature in literary descriptions of cities. [1]

[1]: B.A. Litvinsky, ’Cities and Urban Life under The Kushans’ in J. Harmatta ed., History of Civilisations of Central Asia pp.303-304.


58 Tocharians unknown Suspected Expert -
public-fountains were present under Greco-Batrians in 200 BCE.
59 Hmong - Early Chinese absent Confident Expert -
Hmong settlements relied on natural freshwater sources: ’Topography. (Illus. 2). - Topographically, the Miao area may be divided into two natural regions. The northwestern section can be called the La-erh plateau region; the southeastern section is the region where the rivers flow down. Although the plateau rises about 700 kung ch’ih above sea level, on it there are a great many small basins, with many springs and ponds good for irrigation. The Miao call such small basins p’ing /a plain/, t’ang /a pond/, or ch’ung. The best known among these is the Pao-mu-ying-p’ing, about 70 li north 30 of Feng-huang-ch’eng /city/. Surrounded by mountains, this level area measures five to six li in length and three to four li in width and has seven or eight spring-fed ponds, supplying ample drinking water. It is the largest basin on the plateau. Ya-pao-chai (Illus. 7), situated in the Ya-pao-shan mountains, about 93 li north of Feng-huang-ch’eng, is very high and cold. It has several fish ponds and produces rough rice and yams. In 1795, when the Miao revolted, the headman, Wu Lung-teng, whose family had lived there for generations, was entrenched there. The above two places are the largest among the basins on the plateau. There are countless small basins /p’ing and ch’ung/. There are numerous wells and springs in the mountains, wells being found even on the peaks. The “Yao K’ao” section of the Miao Fang-pei Lan states: “Fifty li southwest outside the city is Ma-an Shan /“Horse Saddle Mountain”/, which is about eight or nine li in height, is very steep, and resembles a horse saddle in shape. On top of the mountain there is a well that never goes dry. On the mountain there are pockets where there are irrigated rice fields. It is a strategic point for the uncivilized Miao to defend.” The La-erh plateau is dotted with Miao villages and settlements because of its level places /p’ing/ and wells and springs, and there the Miao people thrive.’ [1] Only some villages benefited from missionary pipe construction schemes: ’The mountain community of Shimenkan (Stone Gateway) in northwestern Guizhou served as the headquarters of church activity. In addition to its own large primary school, it offered secondary schooling and teacher training. At least thirty Hua Miao continued on and graduated from university in the decades before 1949. Some of these became ordained Methodist ministers or doctors and one became a well-regarded anthropologist (Yang Hanxian). Generally the local chapels were served by lay preachers who were trained at Shimenkan. Other young people received training as nurses and agricultural extension workers. At various points in time, agricultural and industrial extension programs were held at Shimenkan. New strains of potatoes were introduced, fruit orchards were planted on the hillsides of many villages, vegetable gardens were encouraged, and a number of Miao learned the techniques of carpentry, brickmaking, and masonry. More efficient looms were designed for home production of cloth. During the prerevolutionary decades, some villages benefited from collective endeavors to build bridges and roads, and pipe systems that brought water into the community. Teams of medical workers, from Shimenkan or from the churchaffiliated hospitals in nearby Zhaotong City, traveled around the area periodically. Even those who were not interested in becoming church members participated in the economic innovations, accepted treatment from the medical workers, and sent their children to the schools.’ [2]

[1]: Ling, Shun-sheng, Yifu Ruey, and Lien-en Tsao 1947. “Report On An Investigation Of The Miao Of Western Hunan”, 52

[2]: Diamond, Norma 1993. “Ethnicity And The State: The Hua Miao Of Southwest China”, 68


60 Hmong - Late Qing absent Confident Expert -
Relied on freshwater sources for drinking water. Only some villages benefited from pipe construction schemes by missionaries, and this process did not start until the late 19th and early 20th centuries: ’The mountain community of Shimenkan (Stone Gateway) in northwestern Guizhou served as the headquarters of church activity. In addition to its own large primary school, it offered secondary schooling and teacher training. At least thirty Hua Miao continued on and graduated from university in the decades before 1949. Some of these became ordained Methodist ministers or doctors and one became a well-regarded anthropologist (Yang Hanxian). Generally the local chapels were served by lay preachers who were trained at Shimenkan. Other young people received training as nurses and agricultural extension workers. At various points in time, agricultural and industrial extension programs were held at Shimenkan. New strains of potatoes were introduced, fruit orchards were planted on the hillsides of many villages, vegetable gardens were encouraged, and a number of Miao learned the techniques of carpentry, brickmaking, and masonry. More efficient looms were designed for home production of cloth. During the prerevolutionary decades, some villages benefited from collective endeavors to build bridges and roads, and pipe systems that brought water into the community. Teams of medical workers, from Shimenkan or from the churchaffiliated hospitals in nearby Zhaotong City, traveled around the area periodically. Even those who were not interested in becoming church members participated in the economic innovations, accepted treatment from the medical workers, and sent their children to the schools.’ [1] Accordingly, we have assumed that most Hmong communities did not rely on drinking water supply systems, especially not before the Republican period.

[1]: Diamond, Norma 1993. “Ethnicity And The State: The Hua Miao Of Southwest China”, 68


61 Late Shang unknown Suspected Expert -
Pottery water pipes, Palace at Erlitou. [1]

[1]: (Cotterell 1995, 15)


62 Papal States - Early Modern Period I present Confident Expert -
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63 Yemen - Tahirid Dynasty present Confident Expert -
‘The water is taken through pipes laid alongside the road and then through another pipe fixed in the side of the bridge. This has an outlet on the Aden side at about a league from the city, from where it is fetched by camel.’ [1]

[1]: Porter, Venetia Ann (1992) The history and monuments of the Tahirid dynasty of the Yemen 858-923/1454-1517, Durham theses, Durham University, p. 183, Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/5867/


64 The Emirate of Crete present Inferred Expert -
There are no archaeological data. Drinking water supply systems existed both in Byzantine and Islamic world.
65 Anurādhapura III present Confident -
“The outer reaches of the city are defined by the presence of three artificial lakes, the Basawak Kulam, the Tessa Wewa and the Nuwara Wewa covering areas of 91, 160 and 1288ha respectively. With dates ranging from the fourth century BC for the Basavak Kulam in the first century AD for the Nuwara Wewa, they were augmented in the fifth century AD with feeder channels and canals (Brohier 1934). This hydraulic system allowed excess wet season water to be stored for drinking and irrigation agriculture as well as enabling the diverting of water from other river catchments to large storage tanks, such as the Nachchaduwa, before being released into Anuradhapura’s system.” [1] “The reign of Dhātusena (455-73) matched, if it did not surpass the achievements of Mahāsena and Vasabha in the extension of the island’s irrigation network. He is said to have added t the irrigation works in the Mahaväli region by building a dam across that river. But the main focus of attention in irrigation activity during his reign seems to have been the development of water resources in the western part of the dry zone. By far the most impressive achievement by this period is the construction of Kalāväva, which trapped the Kalā-Oya and helped to supplement the supply of water to Anurādhapura and the area round the city.” [2]

[1]: (Coningham, Robin et al. 2007, 703). Coningham, Robin et al. 2007. ‘The State of Theocracy: Defining an Early Medieval Hinterland in Sri Lanka.’ Antiquity. Vol 81:313. Pp 699-719. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/M4HWIC84/collection

[2]: (De Silva, 1981, 30) De Silva, K.M. 1981. A History of Sri Lanka. London: C. Hurst & Company, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/4R6DQVHZ/collection


66 Majapahit Kingdom present Confident Expert -
Large reservoirs and other hydraulic features. [1] One large reservoir was Kolam Sengaran - 575m long and 175m wide; also served as a recreation spot for local residents. [2]

[1]: (Miksic 2000, 116)

[2]: (Kinney 2003, 174)


67 Delhi Sultanate present Confident Expert -
Inferred from presence of roof tanks. [1]

[1]: Grewal, J. S. (2006). The state and society in medieval India (Vol. 7). Oxford University Press, USA, pp. 397.


68 Peiligang unknown Suspected Expert -
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69 Badarian absent Inferred Expert -
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70 Egypt - Saite Period unknown Suspected Expert -
-
71 Russian Empire, Romanov Dynasty I present Confident -
Moscow water pipes out of lead were dated by the 15th century. Stone water pipe was created in
the Trinity-Sergius Monastery in the XVI century, where water flowed into the monastery pipes. Then,
in one of the Solovetsky Monastery wells, water was supplied by gravity from a dug up Holy Lake
through underground pipe, then it was lifted using a hand pump (pump) and distributed through gutters
to neighboring rooms - to the kitchen and to the brewery. There was a large water economy in the
Solovetsky Monastery. [1]

[1]: E. Ketova and J. Nizhegorodtseva, “Main Factors of Water Supply Systems Industrialization in Russia,” IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering 953, no. 1 (November 2020). Zotero link: RCBB958J


72 Russian Empire, Romanov Dynasty II present Confident Expert -
Moscow water pipes out of lead were dated by the 15th century. Stone water pipe was created in
the Trinity-Sergius Monastery in the XVI century, where water flowed into the monastery pipes. Then,
in one of the Solovetsky Monastery wells, water was supplied by gravity from a dug up Holy Lake
through underground pipe, then it was lifted using a hand pump (pump) and distributed through gutters
to neighboring rooms - to the kitchen and to the brewery. There was a large water economy in the
Solovetsky Monastery. [1]

[1]: E. Ketova and J. Nizhegorodtseva, “Main Factors of Water Supply Systems Industrialization in Russia,” IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering 953, no. 1 (November 2020). Zotero link: RCBB958J


73 Early Wei Dynasty present Inferred Expert -
"Besides the more well-known extensive irrigation works and man-made transport canals linking up the major rivers, the provision of water supplies to its cities formed the third important element of China’s ancient water civilization." [1] "The entire underground water supply pipeline system of Yangcheng [Warring States Period?] was discovered in archaeological excavations (Figure 8.2), providing important physical evidence of early water supply of cities in ancient China." [2]

[1]: (Du and Koenig 2012, 169) Du, P and Koenig, A. in Angelakis, Andreas Niklaos. Mays, Larry W. Koutsoyiannis, Demetris. 2012. Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.

[2]: (Du and Koenig 2012, 171) Du, P and Koenig, A. in Angelakis, Andreas Niklaos. Mays, Larry W. Koutsoyiannis, Demetris. 2012. Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.


74 Yangshao absent Inferred Expert -
water wells known from later period so piped water very unlikely in this earlier period.
75 Egypt - Inter-Occupation Period present Confident Expert -
"In the 5th century there appeared in Egypt an entirely new system of water supply, the qanat . It consisted of underground tunnels that channeled groundwater from aquifers over long distances and enabled the irrigation of large areas of land. Qanats as an irrigation technology are typical for central Iran and the likelihood that Persians introduced them into Egypt is great. The Egyptian tunnels remained in use into Roman times." [1]

[1]: (Van de Mieroop 2011, 307)


76 Egypt - Middle Kingdom absent Confident Expert -
Earliest wells date to the el Napta/Al Jerar Early Neolithic (c6000-5250 BC) at Napta Playa in the Western Desert. There is written evidence for wells from 4th dynasty Old Kingdom. "Most of the inscriptions seem to be connected to mining or quarrying activities in the Eastern Desert or travel routes from the Nile Valley towards the Red Sea." [1] A pipe network that connects the drinking water to individual settlements is not known to exist / not thought to be present.

[1]: (Franzmeier 2007)


77 Naqada II absent Inferred Expert -
Earliest wells date to the el Napta/Al Jerar Early Neolithic (c6000-5250 BC) at Napta Playa in the Western Desert. There is written evidence for wells from 4th dynasty Old Kingdom. "Most of the inscriptions seem to be connected to mining or quarrying activities in the Eastern Desert or travel routes from the Nile Valley towards the Red Sea." [1] However, wells do not count as a supply system.

[1]: (Franzmeier 2007)


78 Ptolemaic Kingdom I present Confident Expert -
Reference? Is pipe network that connects the drinking water to individual settlements known to exist?
79 Ptolemaic Kingdom II present Confident Expert -
Reference? Is pipe network that connects the drinking water to individual settlements known to exist?
80 Egypt - Thebes-Libyan Period absent Confident Expert -
A pipe network that connects the drinking water to individual settlements is not known to exist / not thought to be present.
81 Egypt - Tulunid-Ikhshidid Period present Confident Expert -
Ibn Tulun built an aqueduct for his palatine city, cost 40,000 dinars. [1]

[1]: (Raymond 2000, 27, 29)


82 Atlantic Complex unknown Suspected Expert -
No information found in sources so far.
83 Beaker Culture unknown Suspected Expert -
No information found in sources.
84 French Kingdom - Early Bourbon present Inferred Expert -
"The actual conditions of life in towns were often pirmitive, even squalid; sanitation was virtually non-existent, water supplies unreliable, housing cramped and uncomfortable." [1] - what did the water supplies entail?

[1]: (Briggs 1998, 53)


85 Carolingian Empire II present Inferred Expert -
Cisterns. Majority of population did not have access to complex water supply systems: Carolingian palaces at Aachen and Ingelheim had complex waterworks. [1] ; By 1000 CE most communities obtained water from rivers, wells and cisterns. [1]

[1]: (Glick, Steven Livesey and Wallis 2014, 505-506)


86 Anurādhapura IV present Confident -
“The outer reaches of the city are defined by the presence of three artificial lakes, the Basawak Kulam, the Tessa Wewa and the Nuwara Wewa covering areas of 91, 160 and 1288ha respectively. With dates ranging from the fourth century BC for the Basavak Kulam in the first century AD for the Nuwara Wewa, they were augmented in the fifth century AD with feeder channels and canals (Brohier 1934). This hydraulic system allowed excess wet season water to be stored for drinking and irrigation agriculture as well as enabling the diverting of water from other river catchments to large storage tanks, such as the Nachchaduwa, before being released into Anuradhapura’s system.” [1] “Proximity to the Mahaväli, the longest river in Sri Lanka, increased the economic potential of this region. Mahāsena had built the famous Minneriya tank there, and between the fourth and ninth centuries a number of smaller tanks in the region would have helped sustain a considerable population producing a substantial agricultural surplus. The economic importance of the region was further enhanced by the development of commercial relations with China and South-East Asia, in which the port of Gokonna (modern Trincomalee) would have played a prominent part. Thus the adoption of Polonnaruva as the capital of the Sinhalese kingdom by four kings of the period between the seventh and tenth centuries, and the final abandonment of Anurādhapura in its favour, were determined as much by considerations of economic advantage as by strategic and military factors. [2]

[1]: (Coningham, Robin et al. 2007, 703). Coningham, Robin et al. 2007. “The State of Theocracy: Defining an Early Medieval Hinterland in Sri Lanka.” Antiquity. Vol 81:313. Pp 699-719. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/M4HWIC84/collection

[2]: (De Silva 1981, 31) De Silva, K.M. 1981. A History of Sri Lanka. London: C. Hurst & Company, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/4R6DQVHZ/collection


87 Akan - Pre-Ashanti absent Confident Expert -
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88 Ashanti Empire absent Confident Expert -
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89 Archaic Crete present Confident Expert -
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90 Classical Crete absent Confident Expert -
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91 Final Postpalatial Crete absent Confident Expert -
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92 Geometric Crete present Confident Expert -
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93 Hellenistic Crete present Confident Expert -
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94 Monopalatial Crete absent Confident Expert -
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95 Old Palace Crete absent Confident Expert -
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96 Postpalatial Crete absent Confident Expert -
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97 Prepalatial Crete absent Confident Expert -
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98 Hawaii II unknown Suspected Expert -
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99 Hawaii III unknown Suspected Expert -
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100 Iban - Brooke Raj and Colonial absent Confident Expert -
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101 Deccan - Neolithic unknown Suspected Expert -
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102 Chalcolithic Middle Ganga unknown Suspected Expert -
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103 Neolithic Middle Ganga unknown Suspected Expert -
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104 Satavahana Empire unknown Suspected Expert -
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105 Akkadian Empire unknown Suspected Expert -
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106 Formative Period unknown Suspected Expert -
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107 Elam - Igihalkid Period unknown Suspected Expert -
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108 Elam III unknown Suspected Expert -
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109 Pre-Ceramic Period absent Inferred Expert -
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110 Susa II unknown Suspected Expert -
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111 Susa III unknown Suspected Expert -
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112 Icelandic Commonwealth absent Confident Expert -
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113 Kannauj - Varman Dynasty present Confident Expert -
"Bharuci explains samvida as the samiti of villagers whose functions included the protection of tanks and pasture-grounds, and renovation of temples." [1]

[1]: (Mishra 1977, 144) Shyam Manohar Mishra. 1977. Yaśovarman of Kanauj: A Study of Political History, Social, and Cultural Life of Northern India During the Reign of Yaśovarman. Abhinav Publications.


114 Amorite Babylonia present Inferred Expert -
Small canals drew water into settlements. [1] Is this drinking water? Is this a pipe network that connects the drinking water to individual properties?

[1]: Crawford, H. 2007. Architecture in the Old Babylonian Period. In Leick, G. (ed.) The Babylonian World. London: Routledge. p.82


115 Kassite Babylonia unknown Suspected Expert -
Drain architecture is found throughout Ur, but it cannot be said what purpose the water served. [1] A pipe network that connects the drinking water to individual settlements is not known to exist / not thought to be present.

[1]: Wooley, L. 1965. Ur Excavations. Volume III. The Kassite Period and the Period of the Assyrian Kings. London: The British Museum. p.42


116 Southern Mesopotamia Neolithic absent Inferred Expert -
[1]

[1]: (Selin Nugent, pers. comm. with Enrico Cioni, 2019)


117 Uruk unknown Suspected Expert -
Is there a piped network that connects the drinking water to individual settlements?
118 Ilkhanate present Confident Expert -
Cistern for drinking water in Tabriz. [1]

[1]: (Houtsma et al. 1993, 586) Houtsma, M Th. Wensinck, A J. Gibb, H A R. Heffening, W. Levi-Provencal, E. 1993. First Encyclopaedia of Islam: 1913-1936. E.J. Brill. Leiden.


119 Sasanid Empire I present Confident Expert -
"In the year 326 AD when the city of Susa was destroyed during an earthquake, Shapur ordered it to be rebuilt with all the urban facilities, including water flowing in every house, a sewer system and a laundry in each neighbourhood (Hashami, 2010)." [1]

[1]: (Mahmoudian and Mahmoudian 2012, 95) Angelakis A N, Mays L W, Koutsoyiannis, D. 2012. Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.


120 Latium - Bronze Age absent Confident Expert -
A pipe network that connects the drinking water to individual settlements is not known to exist / not thought to be present.
121 Latium - Copper Age absent Confident Expert -
A pipe network that connects the drinking water to individual settlements is not known to exist / not thought to be present.
122 Papal States - Early Modern Period II present Confident Expert -
Is this a piped network that connects the drinking water to individual settlements?
123 Early Roman Republic present Confident Expert -
In 312 BCE Appius Claudius Caecus commissioned the first aqueduct [1] . Aqua Appia and Anio Vetus. [2]

[1]: [5]

[2]: (Evans 2013)


124 Western Roman Empire - Late Antiquity present Confident Expert -
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125 Japan - Incipient Jomon absent Inferred Expert -
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126 Japan - Initial Jomon unknown Suspected Expert -
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127 Japan - Early Jomon unknown Suspected Expert -
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128 Japan - Middle Jomon unknown Suspected Expert -
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129 Japan - Late Jomon unknown Suspected Expert -
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130 Bronze Age Cambodia unknown Suspected Expert -
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131 Saadi Sultanate unknown Suspected Expert -
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132 Jenne-jeno I unknown Suspected Expert -
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133 Jenne-jeno II unknown Suspected Expert -
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134 Jenne-jeno III absent Inferred Expert -
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135 Jenne-jeno IV unknown Suspected Expert -
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136 Mali Empire unknown Suspected Expert -
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137 Songhai Empire - Askiya Dynasty unknown Suspected Expert -
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138 Eastern Turk Khaganate unknown Suspected Expert -
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139 Khitan I unknown Suspected Expert -
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140 Early Mongols absent Confident Expert -
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141 Rouran Khaganate absent Inferred Expert -
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142 Second Turk Khaganate absent Inferred Expert -
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143 Uigur Khaganate unknown Suspected Expert -
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144 Xianbei Confederation unknown Suspected Expert -
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145 Late Xiongnu unknown Suspected Expert -
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146 Xiongnu Imperial Confederation unknown Suspected Expert -
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147 Classic Basin of Mexico unknown Suspected Expert -
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148 Epiclassic Basin of Mexico unknown Suspected Expert -
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149 Toltecs unknown Suspected Expert -
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150 Kachi Plain - Aceramic Neolithic unknown Suspected Expert -
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151 Kachi Plain - Ceramic Neolithic unknown Suspected Expert -
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152 Kachi Plain - Chalcolithic unknown Suspected Expert -
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153 Kachi Plain - Pre-Urban Period unknown Suspected Expert -
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154 Ashikaga Shogunate present Confident Expert -
’with the building of the castle towns from the late sixteenth century on, water supply systems were constructed in various regions, no longer primarily for irrigation but to supply drinking water to urban populations. [1]

[1]: ine Cambridge University Press [sixth edition]. Young, Michiko. 2007. The Art of Japanese Architecture. Tuttle Publishing.p.148


155 Heian absent Confident Expert -
drinking water was provided from wells, rivers etc.
156 Nara Kingdom absent Confident Expert -
drinking water was provided from wells, rivers etc.
157 Phoenician Empire present Confident Expert -
"In most instances, fresh water was secured from local sources, such as rivers or springs. Where local supply was insufficient for population needs, as at Tyre, water was piped in or otherwise physically imported. When necessary, existing supply was augmented by excavated wells, or built, lime-plastered cisterns (cf. Tyre and Awad)." [1]

[1]: Markoe (2000:69).


158 Early Xiongnu absent Inferred Expert -
Not enough data, though it seems to reasonable infer absence.
159 Later Wagadu Empire absent Inferred Expert -
Only wells. "The city of Ghana consists of two towns situated on a plain. ... In the environs are wells..." [1]

[1]: (Al-Bakri 1068 CE in Levtzion and Spaulding 2003, 15)


160 Middle Wagadu Empire absent Inferred Expert -
Only wells. "The city of Ghana consists of two towns situated on a plain. ... In the environs are wells..." [1]

[1]: (Al-Bakri 1068 CE in Levtzion and Spaulding 2003, 15)


161 Monte Alban Late I present Confident Expert -
A wall was built to dam a reservoir in the northern section of Monte Alban. [1]

[1]: Flannery, K. V. and J. Marcus (1983). "The Cloud People." New York, p85


162 Late Formative Basin of Mexico present Inferred Expert -
The reservoir at Cuicuilco suggests that these may have been present elsewhere [1]

[1]: Carballo, David M. (2016). Urbanization and Religion in Ancient Central Mexico. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p.73-84, 125-134.


163 Terminal Formative Basin of Mexico present Inferred Expert -
The reservoir at Cuicuilco suggests that these amy have been present elsewhere [1]

[1]: Carballo, David M. (2016). Urbanization and Religion in Ancient Central Mexico. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p.73-84, 125-134.


164 Initial Formative Basin of Mexico unknown Suspected Expert -
No information found in relevant literature.
165 Indo-Greek Kingdom present Confident Expert -
Public fountains. [1]

[1]: Bernard, Paul. "The Greek Kingdoms of Central Asia." History of civilizations of Central Asia 2 (1994): pp. 99-129.. pp. 110-113


166 Kachi Plain - Post-Urban Period absent Inferred Expert -
Drinking water supply systems are present, but were not state owned. “At Pirak, however, it is in post-900 BC levels, Iron Age, that a brick-lined well was found, the bricks being trapezoid in shape”. [1]

[1]: Ratnagar, S. (2007) Markers and Shapers, Early Indian technology in the household, village and urban workshop. Tulika Books: New Delhi. p89


167 Timurid Empire present Inferred Expert -
Very well established in previous eras. Some may have survived the Mongol conquests and the knowledge to maintain them may have survived.
168 Himyar I present Inferred Expert -
Cisterns. In Arabia "wells were dug and cisterns hollowed out in order to store water, chiefly for household consumption, but also to supplement irrigation sources in dry years." [1]

[1]: (Hoyland 2001, 85) Robert G Hoyland. 2001. Arabia and the Arabs: From the Bronze Age to the Coming of Islam. Routledge. London.


169 Egypt - Kushite Period absent Inferred Expert -
-
170 Himyar II present Inferred Expert -
Cisterns. In Arabia "wells were dug and cisterns hollowed out in order to store water, chiefly for household consumption, but also to supplement irrigation sources in dry years." [1]

[1]: (Hoyland 2001, 85) Robert G Hoyland. 2001. Arabia and the Arabs: From the Bronze Age to the Coming of Islam. Routledge. London.


171 Konya Plain - Early Bronze Age absent Inferred Expert -
-
172 Middle Bronze Age in Central Anatolia unknown Suspected Expert -
-
173 Konya Plain - Late Chalcolithic absent Inferred Expert -
-
174 East Roman Empire present Confident Expert -
-
175 Ottoman Emirate unknown Suspected Expert -
-
176 Cahokia - Lohman-Stirling absent Confident Expert -
-
177 Cahokia - Moorehead absent Confident Expert -
-
178 Proto-Haudenosaunee Confederacy unknown Suspected Expert -
-
179 Kingdom of Hawaii - Kamehameha Period unknown Suspected Expert -
-
180 Cahokia - Early Woodland absent Confident Expert -
-
181 Cahokia - Emergent Mississippian II absent Confident Expert -
-
182 Cahokia - Late Woodland II absent Confident Expert -
-
183 Cahokia - Middle Woodland absent Confident Expert -
-
184 Cahokia - Late Woodland III absent Confident Expert -
-
185 Cahokia - Late Woodland I absent Confident Expert -
-
186 Cahokia - Sand Prairie absent Confident Expert -
-
187 Cahokia - Emergent Mississippian I absent Confident Expert -
-
188 Koktepe I unknown Suspected Expert -
-
189 Neolithic Yemen unknown Confident Expert -
-
190 Durrani Empire absent Inferred Expert -
wells, inferred.
191 Greco-Bactrian Kingdom present Confident Expert -
public fountains [1]

[1]: Bernard, Paul. "The Greek Kingdoms of Central Asia." History of civilizations of Central Asia 2 (1994): pp. 99-129.. pp. 110-113


192 Hephthalites unknown Suspected Expert -
The Questions of King Milinda on Salaka: "in parks and gardens and groves and lakes and tanks, a paradise of rivers and mountains and woods." [1] Could "tanks" refer to cisterns?

[1]: (Bauer 2010, 180-181) Bauer, S W. 2010. The History of the Medieval World: From the Conversion of Constantine to the First Crusade. W. W. Norton & Company.


193 Kushan Empire absent Inferred Expert -
unknown. Wells feature in literary descriptions of cities. [1]

[1]: B.A. Litvinsky, ’Cities and Urban Life under The Kushans’ in J. Harmatta ed., History of Civilisations of Central Asia pp.303-304.


194 Eastern Han Empire present Inferred Expert -
"Besides the more well-known extensive irrigation works and man-made transport canals linking up the major rivers, the provision of water supplies to its cities formed the third important element of China’s ancient water civilization." [1] "The entire underground water supply pipeline system of Yangcheng [Warring States Period?] was discovered in archaeological excavations (Figure 8.2), providing important physical evidence of early water supply of cities in ancient China." [2] Emperor Wu ordered the Kunming Reservoir to provide water for Chang’an which was delivered to the city via "water-transfer channels." One channel provided water to canals other "specifically for supplying water within the city." [3] "Pumps and norias on the southern moat supplied the city with water." [4] -- is this drinking water?

[1]: (Du and Koenig 2012, 169) Du, P and Koenig, A. in Angelakis, Andreas Niklaos. Mays, Larry W. Koutsoyiannis, Demetris. 2012. Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.

[2]: (Du and Koenig 2012, 171) Du, P and Koenig, A. in Angelakis, Andreas Niklaos. Mays, Larry W. Koutsoyiannis, Demetris. 2012. Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.

[3]: (Du and Koenig 2012, 172) Du, P and Koenig, A. in Angelakis, Andreas Niklaos. Mays, Larry W. Koutsoyiannis, Demetris. 2012. Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.

[4]: (Bielenstein 1986, 262)


195 Umayyad Caliphate present Confident Expert -
Canals, aqueducts and qanats were used alongside mechanical water driven machinery (norias) to raise water to higher levels as well as the animal powered saqiyas. Water was crucial in Mosques because of the cleansing rituals. Drinking fountains were called Sabil. [1]

[1]: (Bloom and Blair, eds. 2009, 77-78)


196 Konya Plain - Late Bronze Age II present Confident Expert -
e. g. Hattusa [1]

[1]: Wittenberg H. and A. Schachner (2012) The Ponds of Hattuša - Early Groundwater Management in the Hittite Kingdom [In:] IWA Specialized Conference on Water&Wastewater Technologies in Ancient Civilizations 22-24 March 2012 Instabul, pp. 313-319.


197 Hatti - New Kingdom present Confident Expert -
e. g. Hattusa [1]

[1]: Wittenberg H. and A. Schachner (2012) The Ponds of Hattuša - Early Groundwater Management in the Hittite Kingdom [In:] IWA Specialized Conference on Water&Wastewater Technologies in Ancient Civilizations 22-24 March 2012 Instabul, pp. 313-319.


198 Neo-Hittite Kingdoms present Inferred Expert -
inferred continuity with earlier periods in the region
199 Roman Empire - Dominate present Confident Expert -
Arsinoe, a metropolis in Egypt (the capital town of a nome) "had running water supplied by two reservoirs into which water was pumped from an arm of the Nile." [1]

[1]: (Peacock 2000, 416)


200 Great Ming present Inferred Expert -
"tile and clay pipes were used in Nanjing City in the early Ming Dynasty to transport water from Xuanwu Lake into the inner city canal. Metal pipes made of copper or bronze were used only from the 15th century onwards (Needham & Wang 1999)." [1]

[1]: (Du and Koenig 2012, 205) Du, P and Koenig, A. in Angelakis, Andreas Niklaos. Mays, Larry W. Koutsoyiannis, Demetris. 2012. Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.


201 Northern Song present Confident Expert -
In Kaifeng wells were dug for drinking water. [1] However, bamboo piping systems were created in some area to convey drinking-water. "The largest bamboo piping systems seem to have been built by the great poet-official Su Shi. Under his inspiration, water mains of large bamboo trunks were installed at Hangzhou in 1089 AD and at Guangzhou in 1096 AD." [2]

[1]: (Chen 2015, 730) Chen, Ping. 2015. Material Science and Environmental Engineering: Proceedings of the 3rd Annual 2015 International Conference on Material Science and Environmental Engineering (ICMSEE2015, Wuhan, Hubei, China, 5-6 June 2015). CRC Press.

[2]: (Du and Koenig 2012, 205) Du, P and Koenig, A. in Angelakis, Andreas Niklaos. Mays, Larry W. Koutsoyiannis, Demetris. 2012. Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.


202 Early Qing present Inferred Expert -
"In Beijing, dwellers had, for generations, been using wells to draw groundwater for their daily life. The alleys in Beijing are called ’hutong’ which means ’well’ in Mongolian. [...] When the City was reconstructed in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, many ’hutongs’ were left without a well. According to contemporary records from the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, the quality of water in the wells had been low due to salinisation and this led to two results: water was supplied at three levels of quality (for washing, cooking, and drinking tea); and, seling water became a profession in Beijing (Duan, 1989)." [1]

[1]: (Du & Koenig 2012, 187)


203 Late Qing present Confident Expert -
"In Bejinh, dwellers had, for generations, been using wells to draw groundwater for their daily life. The alleys in Beijing are called ’hutong’ which means ’well’ in Mongolian. [...] When the City was reconstructed in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, many ’hutongs’ were left without a well. According to contemporary records from the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, the quality of water in the wells had been low due to salinisation and this led to two results: water was supplied at three levels of quality (for washing, cooking, and drinking tea); and, seling water became a profession in Beijing (Duan, 1989)." [1]

[1]: (Du & Koenig 2012, 187)


204 Sui Dynasty absent Inferred Expert -
"Different from the Han Dynasty, the urban water supply of Chang’an City in the Sui-Tang Dynasties relied on mainly on canals and wells (Figure 8.4)." [1] The drinking water came from wells. [2]

[1]: (Du and Koenig 2012, 173) Du, P and Koenig, A. in Angelakis, Andreas Niklaos. Mays, Larry W. Koutsoyiannis, Demetris. 2012. Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.

[2]: (Du and Koenig 2012, 175) Du, P and Koenig, A. in Angelakis, Andreas Niklaos. Mays, Larry W. Koutsoyiannis, Demetris. 2012. Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.


205 Egypt - Mamluk Sultanate II present Confident Disputed Expert -
"For its water supply Cairo depended on the carriage of water from the Nile and its distribution to the streets and houses, a service paid for by the user: "One encounters many strong, handsome pack camels, used solely to carry water from the Nile. which is then sold throughout the city," noted Frescobaldi in 1384." [1] "The remarkable aqueduct that brought water from the Nile to the Citadel of Cairo was built in steps, each originally marked by a saqiya water-mill. It was re-activated in the first half of the 14th century to bring water to a Mamluk palace complex at the southern end of the citadel." [2]

[1]: (Raymond 2000, 154)

[2]: (Nicolle 2014) Nicolle, D. 2014 Mamluk Askar 1250-1517. Osprey Publishing Ltd.


206 Tang Dynasty I present Inferred Expert -
"Besides the more well-known extensive irrigation works and man-made transport canals linking up the major rivers, the provision of water supplies to its cities formed the third important element of China’s ancient water civilization." [1] "Different from the Han Dynasty, the urban water supply of Chang’an City in the Sui-Tang Dynasties relied on mainly on canals and wells (Figure 8.4)." [2] The drinking water came from wells. [3]

[1]: (Du and Koenig 2012, 169) Du, P and Koenig, A. in Angelakis, Andreas Niklaos. Mays, Larry W. Koutsoyiannis, Demetris. 2012. Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.

[2]: (Du and Koenig 2012, 173) Du, P and Koenig, A. in Angelakis, Andreas Niklaos. Mays, Larry W. Koutsoyiannis, Demetris. 2012. Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.

[3]: (Du and Koenig 2012, 175) Du, P and Koenig, A. in Angelakis, Andreas Niklaos. Mays, Larry W. Koutsoyiannis, Demetris. 2012. Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.


207 Egypt - Mamluk Sultanate II absent Confident Disputed Expert -
"For its water supply Cairo depended on the carriage of water from the Nile and its distribution to the streets and houses, a service paid for by the user: "One encounters many strong, handsome pack camels, used solely to carry water from the Nile. which is then sold throughout the city," noted Frescobaldi in 1384." [1] "The remarkable aqueduct that brought water from the Nile to the Citadel of Cairo was built in steps, each originally marked by a saqiya water-mill. It was re-activated in the first half of the 14th century to bring water to a Mamluk palace complex at the southern end of the citadel." [2]

[1]: (Raymond 2000, 154)

[2]: (Nicolle 2014) Nicolle, D. 2014 Mamluk Askar 1250-1517. Osprey Publishing Ltd.


208 Tang Dynasty II present Inferred Expert -
"Besides the more well-known extensive irrigation works and man-made transport canals linking up the major rivers, the provision of water supplies to its cities formed the third important element of China’s ancient water civilization." [1] "Different from the Han Dynasty, the urban water supply of Chang’an City in the Sui-Tang Dynasties relied on mainly on canals and wells (Figure 8.4)." [2] The drinking water came from wells. [3]

[1]: (Du and Koenig 2012, 169) Du, P and Koenig, A. in Angelakis, Andreas Niklaos. Mays, Larry W. Koutsoyiannis, Demetris. 2012. Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.

[2]: (Du and Koenig 2012, 173) Du, P and Koenig, A. in Angelakis, Andreas Niklaos. Mays, Larry W. Koutsoyiannis, Demetris. 2012. Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.

[3]: (Du and Koenig 2012, 175) Du, P and Koenig, A. in Angelakis, Andreas Niklaos. Mays, Larry W. Koutsoyiannis, Demetris. 2012. Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.


209 Western Han Empire present Inferred Expert -
"Besides the more well-known extensive irrigation works and man-made transport canals linking up the major rivers, the provision of water supplies to its cities formed the third important element of China’s ancient water civilization." [1] "The entire underground water supply pipeline system of Yangcheng [Warring States Period?] was discovered in archaeological excavations (Figure 8.2), providing important physical evidence of early water supply of cities in ancient China." [2] Emperor Wu ordered the Kunming Reservoir to provide water for Chang’an which was delivered to the city via "water-transfer channels." One channel provided water to canals other "specifically for supplying water within the city." [3]

[1]: (Du and Koenig 2012, 169) Du, P and Koenig, A. in Angelakis, Andreas Niklaos. Mays, Larry W. Koutsoyiannis, Demetris. 2012. Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.

[2]: (Du and Koenig 2012, 171) Du, P and Koenig, A. in Angelakis, Andreas Niklaos. Mays, Larry W. Koutsoyiannis, Demetris. 2012. Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.

[3]: (Du and Koenig 2012, 172) Du, P and Koenig, A. in Angelakis, Andreas Niklaos. Mays, Larry W. Koutsoyiannis, Demetris. 2012. Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.


210 Neguanje present Inferred Expert -
There is no evidence yet, but it is likely that they existed. [1]

[1]: (Giraldo 2015, personal communication)


211 Tairona present Inferred Expert -
wells do not count. however, water reservoirs for drinking water probably would count. "Canals, subterranean drainages, common bathing and washing pools, and large water reservoirs in coastal and upland sites are among the more obvious “public works” found in these towns (Mason 1931, Reichel-Dolmatoff and Dussán 1955, Lleras 1985, Cadavid and Herrera 1985)." [1] "This area is where the only deep water well of Chengue is located. The water well is a stone lined structure, with a stone slate fence similar to those found around reservoirs and the salt lagoon and although most of it has been altered by looting and erosion, the staircase that led to the bottom is still visible. At this point it is impossible to date the well, but stratified T1 ceramics found near the rim of the well (see Excavation 17) suggest it may have been build during the T1 phase." [2]

[1]: (Giraldo 2010, 56)

[2]: (Dever 2007, 145)


212 Shuar - Colonial absent Confident Expert -
The Shuar did not construct drinking water supply systems, and instead relied on proximity to minor freshwater tributaries: ’The Indians like to dwell in the vicinity of rivers. Once they have found a suitable spot, they start by clearing out a lot. [51] Such clearing is necessary everywhere, for there is no territory without forest. On the clearing a temporary hut is built out of the timber which the clearing process had yielded. More trees are then cut down to obtain a larger area for the fields where they plant Yucca, corn, cotton, bananas, and maní. This field is as a rule somewhat removed from the house and in the middle of the forest. I have not been able to find out the reason for this. They do it perhaps because there is no suitable land close to the river, where the huts are set up, or for some other reason. As they go along, they collect the material for their permanent home. The erection of the permanent dwelling is a slow process, and occasionally it may take several years before it is ready since they work on it only seldom and with long interruptions.’ [1] ’“In describing my journeys among the Jibaro Indians I had occasion to mention repeatedly that the savage Jibaros never settle on the banks of the main rivers, but prefer to make their houses beside small affluents in the interior of the country. The reason for this is obvious: it is due to their constant fear of hostile attacks. By hiding themselves in the forests in the way they do, they not only avoid the whites, who now and then travel along the main rivers, but they are also better protected against hostile Indian tribes. The Jibaro houses are also largely constructed with a view to keeping off uninvited guests; in fact, nearly every house is a sort of fortress, as will be shown in greater detail in the part dealing with the warfare of the Indians.”’ [2]

[1]: Brüning, Hans H. 1928. “Travelling In The Aguaruna Region”, 50p

[2]: Karsten, Rafael 1935. “Head-Hunters Of Western Amazonas: The Life And Culture Of The Jibaro Indians Of Eastern Ecuador And Peru", 94


213 Egypt - Mamluk Sultanate III absent Confident Disputed Expert -
"For its water supply Cairo depended on the carriage of water from the Nile and its distribution to the streets and houses, a service paid for by the user: "One encounters many strong, handsome pack camels, used solely to carry water from the Nile. which is then sold throughout the city," noted Frescobaldi in 1384." Something similar was said in 1436 CE by Pero Tafur. [1] "Sabil public water source north of Cairo’s Citadel. Dating from the mid-14th century, it is decorated with the heraldic motif of its sponsor, the Mamluk Amir al-Kabir Sayf al-Din Shaykhu al-Nasiri." [2] "The remarkable aqueduct that brought water from the Nile to the Citadel of Cairo was built in steps, each originally marked by a saqiya water-mill. It was re-activated in the first half of the 14th century to bring water to a Mamluk palace complex at the southern end of the citadel." [2]

[1]: (Raymond 2000, 154)

[2]: (Nicolle 2014) Nicolle, D. 2014 Mamluk Askar 1250-1517. Osprey Publishing Ltd.


214 Naqada I absent Inferred Expert -
Earliest wells date to the el Napta/Al Jerar Early Neolithic (c6000-5250 BC) at Napta Playa in the Western Desert. There is written evidence for wells from 4th dynasty Old Kingdom. "Most of the inscriptions seem to be connected to mining or quarrying activities in the Eastern Desert or travel routes from the Nile Valley towards the Red Sea." [1] A pipe network that connects the drinking water to individual settlements is not known to exist / not thought to be present.

[1]: (Franzmeier 2007)


215 Shuar - Ecuadorian absent Confident Expert -
The Shuar did not construct drinking water supply systems, and instead relied on proximity to minor freshwater tributaries: ’The Indians like to dwell in the vicinity of rivers. Once they have found a suitable spot, they start by clearing out a lot. [51] Such clearing is necessary everywhere, for there is no territory without forest. On the clearing a temporary hut is built out of the timber which the clearing process had yielded. More trees are then cut down to obtain a larger area for the fields where they plant Yucca, corn, cotton, bananas, and maní. This field is as a rule somewhat removed from the house and in the middle of the forest. I have not been able to find out the reason for this. They do it perhaps because there is no suitable land close to the river, where the huts are set up, or for some other reason. As they go along, they collect the material for their permanent home. The erection of the permanent dwelling is a slow process, and occasionally it may take several years before it is ready since they work on it only seldom and with long interruptions.’ [1] ’“In describing my journeys among the Jibaro Indians I had occasion to mention repeatedly that the savage Jibaros never settle on the banks of the main rivers, but prefer to make their houses beside small affluents in the interior of the country. The reason for this is obvious: it is due to their constant fear of hostile attacks. By hiding themselves in the forests in the way they do, they not only avoid the whites, who now and then travel along the main rivers, but they are also better protected against hostile Indian tribes. The Jibaro houses are also largely constructed with a view to keeping off uninvited guests; in fact, nearly every house is a sort of fortress, as will be shown in greater detail in the part dealing with the warfare of the Indians.”’ [2]

[1]: Brüning, Hans H. 1928. “Travelling In The Aguaruna Region”, 50p

[2]: Karsten, Rafael 1935. “Head-Hunters Of Western Amazonas: The Life And Culture Of The Jibaro Indians Of Eastern Ecuador And Peru", 94


216 Ayyubid Sultanate present Confident Expert -
Well of Joseph (Bir Yusuf) was a public work. 90 meters deep. "It was divided into two parts, with the water raised by waterwheels to a cistern midway up the shaft then brought to the surface by another set of wheels. The oxen that turned the wheels stayed in the well all their lives. One entered by a stairway consisting of 300 steps, whence the name Well of the Spiral. An aqueduct was also built to carry water to the Citadel." [1] According to Ibn Jubayr: "Inside the khan is running water which flows through underground conduits to a fountain in the middle." [2]

[1]: (Raymond 2000, 89-90)

[2]: (Nicolle 2011) Nicolle, D. 2011. Saladin. Osprey Publishing.


217 Egypt - Dynasty I absent Confident Expert -
Earliest wells date to the el Napta/Al Jerar Early Neolithic (c6000-5250 BC) at Napta Playa in the Western Desert. There is written evidence for wells from 4th dynasty Old Kingdom. "Most of the inscriptions seem to be connected to mining or quarrying activities in the Eastern Desert or travel routes from the Nile Valley towards the Red Sea." "The basic techniques involved in well-building, such as sinking shafts and building casings of solid stones, must be considered to have existed in Egypt at least since the early Old Kingdom and probably even earlier." [1] A pipe network that connects the drinking water to individual settlements is not known to exist / not thought to be present.

[1]: (Franzmeier 2007)


218 Egypt - Dynasty II absent Confident Expert -
Earliest wells date to the el Napta/Al Jerar Early Neolithic (c6000-5250 BC) at Napta Playa in the Western Desert. There is written evidence for wells from 4th dynasty Old Kingdom. "Most of the inscriptions seem to be connected to mining or quarrying activities in the Eastern Desert or travel routes from the Nile Valley towards the Red Sea." "The basic techniques involved in well-building, such as sinking shafts and building casings of solid stones, must be considered to have existed in Egypt at least since the early Old Kingdom and probably even earlier." [1] A pipe network that connects the drinking water to individual settlements is not known to exist / not thought to be present.

[1]: (Franzmeier 2007)


219 Egypt - Mamluk Sultanate I present Confident Disputed Expert -
Four waterwheels installed on Nile 1313 CE. [1] However, these did not supply the water directly to the population? "For its water supply Cairo depended on the carriage of water from the Nile and its distribution to the streets and houses, a service paid for by the user: "One encounters many strong, handsome pack camels, used solely to carry water from the Nile. which is then sold throughout the city," noted Frescobaldi in 1384." [2] "Sabil public water source north of Cairo’s Citadel. Dating from the mid-14th century, it is decorated with the heraldic motif of its sponsor, the Mamluk Amir al-Kabir Sayf al-Din Shaykhu al-Nasiri." [3] "The remarkable aqueduct that brought water from the Nile to the Citadel of Cairo was built in steps, each originally marked by a saqiya water-mill. It was re-activated in the first half of the 14th century to bring water to a Mamluk palace complex at the southern end of the citadel." [3]

[1]: (Raymond 2000, 132)

[2]: (Raymond 2000, 154)

[3]: (Nicolle 2014) Nicolle, D. 2014 Mamluk Askar 1250-1517. Osprey Publishing Ltd.


220 Egypt - Mamluk Sultanate I absent Confident Disputed Expert -
Four waterwheels installed on Nile 1313 CE. [1] However, these did not supply the water directly to the population? "For its water supply Cairo depended on the carriage of water from the Nile and its distribution to the streets and houses, a service paid for by the user: "One encounters many strong, handsome pack camels, used solely to carry water from the Nile. which is then sold throughout the city," noted Frescobaldi in 1384." [2] "Sabil public water source north of Cairo’s Citadel. Dating from the mid-14th century, it is decorated with the heraldic motif of its sponsor, the Mamluk Amir al-Kabir Sayf al-Din Shaykhu al-Nasiri." [3] "The remarkable aqueduct that brought water from the Nile to the Citadel of Cairo was built in steps, each originally marked by a saqiya water-mill. It was re-activated in the first half of the 14th century to bring water to a Mamluk palace complex at the southern end of the citadel." [3]

[1]: (Raymond 2000, 132)

[2]: (Raymond 2000, 154)

[3]: (Nicolle 2014) Nicolle, D. 2014 Mamluk Askar 1250-1517. Osprey Publishing Ltd.


221 Egypt - Mamluk Sultanate III present Confident Disputed Expert -
"For its water supply Cairo depended on the carriage of water from the Nile and its distribution to the streets and houses, a service paid for by the user: "One encounters many strong, handsome pack camels, used solely to carry water from the Nile. which is then sold throughout the city," noted Frescobaldi in 1384." Something similar was said in 1436 CE by Pero Tafur. [1] "Sabil public water source north of Cairo’s Citadel. Dating from the mid-14th century, it is decorated with the heraldic motif of its sponsor, the Mamluk Amir al-Kabir Sayf al-Din Shaykhu al-Nasiri." [2] "The remarkable aqueduct that brought water from the Nile to the Citadel of Cairo was built in steps, each originally marked by a saqiya water-mill. It was re-activated in the first half of the 14th century to bring water to a Mamluk palace complex at the southern end of the citadel." [2]

[1]: (Raymond 2000, 154)

[2]: (Nicolle 2014) Nicolle, D. 2014 Mamluk Askar 1250-1517. Osprey Publishing Ltd.


222 Egypt - Dynasty 0 absent Inferred Expert -
Earliest wells date to the el Napta/Al Jerar Early Neolithic (c6000-5250 BC) at Napta Playa in the Western Desert. There is written evidence for wells from 4th dynasty Old Kingdom. "Most of the inscriptions seem to be connected to mining or quarrying activities in the Eastern Desert or travel routes from the Nile Valley towards the Red Sea." "The basic techniques involved in well-building, such as sinking shafts and building casings of solid stones, must be considered to have existed in Egypt at least since the early Old Kingdom and probably even earlier." [1] A pipe network that connects the drinking water to individual settlements is not known to exist / not thought to be present.

[1]: (Franzmeier 2007)


223 Egypt - New Kingdom Ramesside Period absent Confident Expert -
The mines in the Eastern Desert had a "road leading to them [which] was provided with a resting-place, a newly dug well, and a small temple." [1] A pipe network that connects the drinking water to individual settlements is not known to exist / not thought to be present. However, various technologies might have incorporated piped water? 1. Water filtration system in use since c2000 BCE. [2] (privately owned, but also used in temples and government offices?). 2. In Amarna many property compounds had their own well "a unique feature of this city, which made its inhabitants independent of the Nile for their daily water supplies." [3] 3. A map of Amarna labels a "Water Tower" [4] near the central city. This would store too much water for private consumption and could be a store of water intended for public consumption.

[1]: (Van Dijk 2000, 287)

[2]: (Angelakis et al. 2012, 136)

[3]: (Van Dijk 2000, 274)

[4]: (Van Dijk 2000, 273)


224 Egypt - New Kingdom Thutmosid Period absent Confident Expert -
A pipe network that connects the drinking water to individual settlements is not known to exist / not thought to be present. However, various technologies might have incorporated piped water? 1. Water filtration system in use since c2000 BCE. [1] (privately owned, but also used in temples and government offices?). 2. In Amarna many property compounds had their own well "a unique feature of this city, which made its inhabitants independent of the Nile for their daily water supplies." [2] 3. A map of Amarna labels a "Water Tower" [3] near the central city. This would store too much water for private consumption and could be a store of water intended for public consumption.

[1]: (Angelakis et al. 2012, 136)

[2]: (Van Dijk 2000, 274)

[3]: (Van Dijk 2000, 273)


225 Egypt - Classic Old Kingdom absent Confident Expert -
Earliest wells date to the el Napta/Al Jerar Early Neolithic (c6000-5250 BC) at Napta Playa in the Western Desert. There is written evidence for wells from 4th dynasty Old Kingdom. "Most of the inscriptions seem to be connected to mining or quarrying activities in the Eastern Desert or travel routes from the Nile Valley towards the Red Sea." "The basic techniques involved in well-building, such as sinking shafts and building casings of solid stones, must be considered to have existed in Egypt at least since the early Old Kingdom and probably even earlier." [1] A pipe network that connects the drinking water to individual settlements is not known to exist / not thought to be present.

[1]: (Franzmeier 2007)


226 Egypt - Late Old Kingdom absent Confident Expert -
Earliest wells date to the el Napta/Al Jerar Early Neolithic (c6000-5250 BC) at Napta Playa in the Western Desert. There is written evidence for wells from 4th dynasty Old Kingdom. "Most of the inscriptions seem to be connected to mining or quarrying activities in the Eastern Desert or travel routes from the Nile Valley towards the Red Sea." "The basic techniques involved in well-building, such as sinking shafts and building casings of solid stones, must be considered to have existed in Egypt at least since the early Old Kingdom and probably even earlier." [1] A pipe network that connects the drinking water to individual settlements is not known to exist / not thought to be present.

[1]: (Franzmeier 2007)


227 Egypt - Period of the Regions absent Confident Expert -
Earliest wells date to the el Napta/Al Jerar Early Neolithic (c6000-5250 BC) at Napta Playa in the Western Desert. There is written evidence for wells from 4th dynasty Old Kingdom. "Most of the inscriptions seem to be connected to mining or quarrying activities in the Eastern Desert or travel routes from the Nile Valley towards the Red Sea." [1] A pipe network that connects the drinking water to individual settlements is not known to exist / not thought to be present.

[1]: (Franzmeier 2007)


228 Spanish Empire I present Confident Expert -
“Seville relied partly on water brought fifteen miles from Alcara de Guadaira along an aqueduct built by the Muslims, and on from that Carmona, twenty mile away, running along another Roman aqueduct. A network of underground pipes, made of lead, carried the water to the fountains which stood in every little square and directly to a few of the chief households. Even small towns showed considerable ingenuity: Xativa, with about 8,000 inhabitants, had by the middle of the sixteenth century a new aqueduct to add to the old one, both bringing water from a league or so away. At least a quarter of the houses had their own piped supply.” [1]

[1]: (Casey 2002, 33) Casey, James. 2002. Early Modern Spain: A Social History. New York: Routledge. https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/2SNTRSWT


229 Yehuda present Confident Expert -
Several aqueducts and cisterns have been found that date to this period or earlier, in particular the so-called "Lower Aqueduct" of Jerusalem, which is generally believed to have been built by the Hasmoneans themselves circa 150 BCE.
230 Axum I absent Inferred Expert -
"In the foot-hills and on the plains, cisterns and dams were constructed as reservoirs for rainwater and irrigation canals were dug." [1] Presumably these cisterns refer to the storage of water for agricultural use only.

[1]: (Kobishanov 1981, 383) Y M. Kobishanov. Aksum: political system, economics and culture, first to fourth century. Muḥammad Jamal al-Din Mokhtar. ed. 1981. UNESCO General History of Africa. Volume II. Heinemann. UNESCO. California.


231 Chuuk - Early Truk absent Confident Expert -
Islanders used rainwater and freshwater springs rather than drinking water supply systems even in the colonial period: ’A supply of drinking water is kept in every house. At the present time a converted gasoline drum, with the lid removed by cutting with a cold chisel, is placed just outside the house to catch rainwater from the corrugated iron roof; or else water is carried from springs and kept in glass bottles. In former times, fresh water springs located on high ground inland constituted the chief source of supply and water was carried from these springs in coconut shell containers. In former times also, short breadfruit logs were occasionally dubbed out and placed beneath the eaves to catch rainwater.’ [1]

[1]: LeBar, Frank M. {nd}-/. “Material Culture Of Truk”, 223


232 Chuuk - Late Truk absent Confident Expert -
Islanders used rainwater and freshwater springs rather than drinking water supply systems: ’A supply of drinking water is kept in every house. At the present time a converted gasoline drum, with the lid removed by cutting with a cold chisel, is placed just outside the house to catch rainwater from the corrugated iron roof; or else water is carried from springs and kept in glass bottles. In former times, fresh water springs located on high ground inland constituted the chief source of supply and water was carried from these springs in coconut shell containers. In former times also, short breadfruit logs were occasionally dubbed out and placed beneath the eaves to catch rainwater.’ [1] The supply pipes that Goodenough describes in the following paragraph seem to have been the exception rather than the rule: ’Anything that has acquired a productive or practical value as the result of human labor is owned as property, whereas ownership is less likely with things directly consumable from nature. Thus there are fishing rights in water areas, but water itself is the property of no one, especially fresh water. The main source of drinking water on Romonum is a spring in the center of the island. The land on which it is located is owned, but the spring itself is free to all, and in the old days before the introduction of rain barrels was used by everyone on the island. When the native storekeeper recently ran a pipe from this spring to his house some distance away, he incurred no obligations toward the people owning the land from which the water is piped. Similarly, medicinal herbs, dried coconut fronds for kindling, wild cooking herbs, and leaves for wrapping food bundles may be freely gathered by anyone, anywhere, without first speaking to the owner of the land on which they are found.’ [2]

[1]: LeBar, Frank M. {nd}-/. “Material Culture Of Truk”, 223

[2]: Goodenough, Ward Hunt 1951. “Property, Kin, And Community On Truk”, 30


233 French Kingdom - Late Bourbon present Confident Expert -
Wells and public drinking fountains (fed by river) were important sources of drinking water. Paris had about 40 fountains in 1700 CE. Water carriers sold water collected on boats. Piped water would not be widespread until the 1850s. In 1778 CE a universal piped network fed by a steam engine was planned but the company in charge of the project only connected 617 customers before it went bankrupt ten years later. [1] [2]

[1]: Roger Chartier. Power, Space, and Investments in Paris. James L McClain. John M Merriman. Ugawa Kaoru. 1994. Edo and Paris. Urban Life and the State in the Early Modern Era. Cornell University Press. Ithaca. pp. 150

[2]: Leslioe Tomory. 2017. The History of the London Water Industry, 1580–1820. Johns Hopkins University Press. Baltimore. p.193-194


234 Proto-French Kingdom present Confident Expert -
Cisterns. By 1000 CE most communities obtained water from rivers, wells and cisterns and this was still the case at the end of the Middle Ages. However, in the 11th and 12th centuries new water supply systems were developed which became installed in towns. [1] (within this time period?) "Pilgrims, crusaders, university students, and merchants would have encountered conduits and fountains in the course of their travels." [1] By end of Middle Ages [1] : piped water to public fountains; artificial lifting devices and water towers

[1]: (Glick, Steven Livesey and Wallis 2014, 505-506)


235 French Kingdom - Late Capetian present Confident Expert -
Cisterns. By 1000 CE most communities obtained water from rivers, wells and cisterns and this was still the case at the end of the Middle Ages. However, in the 11th and 12th centuries new water supply systems were developed which became installed in towns. [1] (within this time period?) "Pilgrims, crusaders, university students, and merchants would have encountered conduits and fountains in the course of their travels." [1] By end of Middle Ages [1] : piped water to public fountains; artificial lifting devices and water towers

[1]: (Glick, Steven Livesey and Wallis 2014, 505-506)


236 Carolingian Empire I present Inferred Expert -
Water channels used for fresh water in Early Medieval Francia. Squatriti mentions an aqueduct built for Le Mans by Bishop Aldric: "From the fourth century onward, in fact, water evergetism in the peninsular survived by assuming new forms. Much as was the case in ninth-century Le Mans, in late antique Italy bishops replaced secular builders of aqueducts. Indeed, by Aldric’s day, Italy had developed a distinguished tradition of episcopal involvement in urban water supply. [1]

[1]: (Squatriti 2002, 13) Paolo Squatriti. 2002. Water and Society in Early Medieval Italy, AD 400-1000. Cambridge University Press.


237 Early Merovingian present Inferred Expert -
Bishops (non-state) took an interest in water-supply. [1] Gregory of Tours mentions one aqueduct, not certain whether current or from 500 CE. [1] "The political collapse of the Western Roman Empire did not coincided with a parallel collapse of Roman traditions of engineering. The technology did not disappear - it was adapted to new ends in late antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Even before the "Fall of Rome" hydraulic patronage was shifting away from secular munificence of large-scale aqueducts and luxurious public baths to more modest ecclesiastical structures such as baptistery fonts, charitable baths and atrium fountains. These new Christian waterworks helped to preserve the knowledge of subterranean pipes, hydraulic cement, and even inverted siphons. Some classical aqueducts were restored or remained in use during the Early Middle Ages, often thanks to episcopal patronage." [2]

[1]: (Loseby in Wood ed. 1998, 260)

[2]: (Glick, Steven Livesey and Wallis 2014, 505-506)


238 Proto-Carolingian present Inferred Expert -
Bishops (non-state) took an interest in water-supply. [1] Gregory of Tours mentions one aqueduct, not certain whether current or from 500 CE. [1] "The political collapse of the Western Roman Empire did not coincided with a parallel collapse of Roman traditions of engineering. The technology did not disappear - it was adapted to new ends in late antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Even before the "Fall of Rome" hydraulic patronage was shifting away from secular munificence of large-scale aqueducts and luxurious public baths to more modest ecclesiastical structures such as baptistery fonts, charitable baths and atrium fountains. These new Christian waterworks helped to preserve the knowledge of subterranean pipes, hydraulic cement, and even inverted siphons. Some classical aqueducts were restored or remained in use during the Early Middle Ages, often thanks to episcopal patronage." [2]

[1]: (Loseby in Wood ed. 1998, 260)

[2]: (Glick, Steven Livesey and Wallis 2014, 505-506)


239 Middle Merovingian present Inferred Expert -
Bishops (non-state) took an interest in water-supply. [1] Gregory of Tours mentions one aqueduct, not certain whether current or from 500 CE. [1] "The political collapse of the Western Roman Empire did not coincided with a parallel collapse of Roman traditions of engineering. The technology did not disappear - it was adapted to new ends in late antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Even before the "Fall of Rome" hydraulic patronage was shifting away from secular munificence of large-scale aqueducts and luxurious public baths to more modest ecclesiastical structures such as baptistery fonts, charitable baths and atrium fountains. These new Christian waterworks helped to preserve the knowledge of subterranean pipes, hydraulic cement, and even inverted siphons. Some classical aqueducts were restored or remained in use during the Early Middle Ages, often thanks to episcopal patronage." [2]

[1]: (Loseby in Wood ed. 1998, 260)

[2]: (Glick, Steven Livesey and Wallis 2014, 505-506)


240 French Kingdom - Early Valois present Confident Expert -
Cisterns. By 1000 CE most communities obtained water from rivers, wells and cisterns and this was still the case at the end of the Middle Ages. However, in the 11th and 12th centuries new water supply systems were developed which became installed in towns. [1] (within this time period?) "Pilgrims, crusaders, university students, and merchants would have encountered conduits and fountains in the course of their travels." [1] By end of Middle Ages [1] : piped water to public fountains; artificial lifting devices and water towers; Gravity flow systems of channels and pipes in the High Middle Ages very similar to Roman engineering. [1]

[1]: (Glick, Steven Livesey and Wallis 2014, 505-506)


241 French Kingdom - Late Valois unknown Suspected Expert -
Cisterns?
242 Papal States - High Medieval Period present Inferred Expert -
The papacy restored and maintained aqueducts (from c800), among other buildings, which at the time "certainly attest to the very great wealth of the papacy in the early Carolingian period, and to the preparedness of popes to spend that wealth very ambitiously." [1] Inferred present on basis some Roman aqueducts maintained until early modern period.

[1]: (Wickham 2015, 155) Wickham, C. 2015. Medieval Rome: Stability and Crisis of a City, 900-1150. Oxford University Press. Oxford.


243 Papal States - Renaissance Period present Inferred Expert -
The papacy restored and maintained aqueducts (from c800), among other buildings, which at the time "certainly attest to the very great wealth of the papacy in the early Carolingian period, and to the preparedness of popes to spend that wealth very ambitiously." [1] Inferred present on basis some Roman aqueducts maintained until early modern period.

[1]: (Wickham 2015, 155) Wickham, C. 2015. Medieval Rome: Stability and Crisis of a City, 900-1150. Oxford University Press. Oxford.


244 Hawaii I absent Inferred Expert -
Referring to Ancestral Polynesian society: "But the development of large-scale terracing, canal networks, and the like were technological elaborations that would accompany much later stages in the transformation of Polynesian societies." [1]

[1]: (Kirch & Green 2001, 131)


245 Iban - Pre-Brooke absent Confident Expert -
Drinking water was fetched from streams in gourds. [1]

[1]: Freeman, Derek 1955. “Report On The Iban Of Sarawak: Vol. 1: Iban Social Organization”, 27


246 Kediri Kingdom absent Inferred Expert -
no mention of drinking water projects: "Initiatives in the Kadiri state formation also including the development of water management (supposedly for both transportation and irrigation purposes). A special government official appointed for this task, the senapati sarwwajala, first appeared during the Kadiri period. A water-related professional that was first mentioned in Kadiri inscriptions was the undahagi lancang, the shipbuilder. Another official that likewise first appeared during the Kadiri period was the sopana, who acted as an intermediary between the king and those who needed the king’s favor." [1]

[1]: (Sedwayati in Ooi 2004 (b), 707)


247 Canaan present Confident Expert -
Water shafts likely dating to the Middle Bronze Age have been found at Megiddo and Gezer; a truly massive water tunnel was found at Hazor. [1]

[1]: See diagram here.


248 Yisrael present Confident Expert -
“Huge water systems are one of the main characteristics of Israelite fortifications. These held water that often came from a source located outside the city walls. The system often consisted of a vertical shaft, with broad steps leading down to a horizontal tunnel, which in turn led to the water source, often in a cave. The entrance to the cave from outside the citadel was of course blocked off. Water systems have been excavated at Megiddo, Hazor and Lachish; the latter, however, was not finished. The water system of Jerusalem will be discussed later.” [1]

[1]: Rossi (2010:72)


249 Deccan - Iron Age present Inferred Expert -
"At the Iron Age habitation site Kadebakele (Northern Karnataka) [...] inhabitants modified the drainage pattern on top of a granitic hill to form a water catchment basin [...] it certainly provided much-needed water to residents at certain times" [1]

[1]: A. Bauer, K. Morrison, Water Management and Reservoirs in India and Sri Lanka, in H. Selin (ed), Encyclopedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures (2008), p. 2207-2214


250 Middle Formative Basin of Mexico absent Inferred Expert -
None have been found, and given the abundance of streams, springs, and freshwater lakes in the region during the Formative, and it seems unlikely that household water supplies would have been necessary. [1] [2] [3] [4]

[1]: Serra Puche, Mari Carmen (1986). "Unidades Habitacionales del Formativo en la Cuenca de Mexico." In Unidades Habitacionales Mesoamericanas y Sus Areas de Actividad, ed. L. Manzanilla. Mexico City: UNAM, 161-192.

[2]: Paul Tolstoy. (1989) "Coapexco and Tlatilco: sites with Olmec material in the Basin of Mexico", In Regional Perspectives on the Olmec, Robert J. Sharer & David C. Grove (eds.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pg. 87-121.

[3]: Flannery, Kent V. (1976). "The Early Mesoamerican House." In The Early Mesoamerican Village, ed. K. V. Flannery. New York: Academic Press, 16-24.

[4]: Niederberger, Christine. (1979) "Early Sedentary Economy in the Basin of Mexico" Science 203(4376):131-142.


251 Kingdom of Norway II absent Confident Expert -
It is assumed here that relevant structures continued to be privately managed. ’However, note the water supply at Þingvellir (see 930-1262 coding).’ [1]

[1]: Árni Daniel Júlíusson and Axel Kristissen 2017, pers. comm. to E. Brandl and D. Mullins


252 Early A'chik absent Confident Expert -
Villages relied on natural water sources: ‘Unlike other hill tribes, such as the Nagas and the Lushais, who build their villages high up on the slopes of hills, the Garos construct theirs in valleys or in depressions on the hillsides, close to running water. They attach great importance to pure water, and it is quite the exception for them to live at any distance from a good stream. The sites chosen for the houses are nevertheless generally steep, and the villages are rarely on flat ground.’ [1] Access to rivers was an important factor when choosing a site for a new village even in the post-independence period: ‘There are different sizes of village in the Garo Hills. I have seen small villages consisting of two or three huts, practically isolated from all the advantages of a big village. On the other hand, in a big village there may be as many as fifty or more huts. The size of the big village entirely depends on the space that is available for the house building and also the facilities the inhabitants of the village may derive for cultivation and other purposes from the surroundings of the locality. The largest village, I visited, was situated on the slopes of the hills, as is the usual practice, facing long strip of valley, nearly about a mile and a half long and about half a mile broad. It is easily understandable that people living in such villages take to plough and utilise the valley for agricultural purposes. It has, therefore, the advantage of accommodating larger people than it is possible for the village which is situated on the hill slopes and which is to depend primarily on jhum cultivation as described hereafter. Usually, an average sized village contains ten to fifteen houses. The economic factor is one of the main guiding principles regarding the expansion of a village. Availability of arrable land or hillocks for jhum cultivation, good drinking water, facilities of conveyance and also facilities of market places are some of the main factors, which the Garos consider before they fix up a place to start a new village. The common practice is to have one house for one family consisting of husband, wife, and children. Occasionally, the old mother or the mother-in-law also stays in the family.’ [2]

[1]: Playfair, Alan 1909. “Garo”, 38

[2]: Sinha, Tarunchandra 1966. “Psyche Of The Garos”, 7


253 Achaemenid Empire present Confident Expert -
"The infrastructural and agricultural measures (the extension of the road system, the maintenance of river traffic and irrigation, and the provision of drinking water and new crops), modeled on Near Eastern examples, facilitated the rapid transfer of troops and improved the diet of royal subjects." [1] "One of the greatest deeds of Darius the Great was the creation of "Water Organisation". The head of the organisation was called "Ao-Tar" or "Water Master" and he controlled the qanats, dams, rivers, etc." [2] "Darius ordered the reconstruction of the city of Sarod destroyed by the Greeks. Mendrokles presented to Darius a plan of the city, which was to be built over an area of 50 x 50 Ostad [1 Ostad = 200m]. Piped water and sewers were considered in the plan." [2]

[1]: (Morris and Scheidel 2008, 90) Morris I and Scheidel, W. 2008. The Dynamics of Ancient Empires: State Power from Assyria to Byzantium. Oxford University Press.

[2]: (Mahmoudian and Mahmoudian 2012, 94) Angelakis A N, Mays L W, Koutsoyiannis, D. 2012.Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.


254 Late A'chik absent Confident Expert -
Villages relied on natural water sources: ‘Unlike other hill tribes, such as the Nagas and the Lushais, who build their villages high up on the slopes of hills, the Garos construct theirs in valleys or in depressions on the hillsides, close to running water. They attach great importance to pure water, and it is quite the exception for them to live at any distance from a good stream. The sites chosen for the houses are nevertheless generally steep, and the villages are rarely on flat ground.’ [1] Access to rivers was an important factor when choosing a site for a new village: ‘There are different sizes of village in the Garo Hills. I have seen small villages consisting of two or three huts, practically isolated from all the advantages of a big village. On the other hand, in a big village there may be as many as fifty or more huts. The size of the big village entirely depends on the space that is available for the house building and also the facilities the inhabitants of the village may derive for cultivation and other purposes from the surroundings of the locality. The largest village, I visited, was situated on the slopes of the hills, as is the usual practice, facing long strip of valley, nearly about a mile and a half long and about half a mile broad. It is easily understandable that people living in such villages take to plough and utilise the valley for agricultural purposes. It has, therefore, the advantage of accommodating larger people than it is possible for the village which is situated on the hill slopes and which is to depend primarily on jhum cultivation as described hereafter. Usually, an average sized village contains ten to fifteen houses. The economic factor is one of the main guiding principles regarding the expansion of a village. Availability of arrable land or hillocks for jhum cultivation, good drinking water, facilities of conveyance and also facilities of market places are some of the main factors, which the Garos consider before they fix up a place to start a new village. The common practice is to have one house for one family consisting of husband, wife, and children. Occasionally, the old mother or the mother-in-law also stays in the family.’ [2]

[1]: Playfair, Alan 1909. “Garo”, 38

[2]: Sinha, Tarunchandra 1966. “Psyche Of The Garos”, 7


255 Mahajanapada era present Confident Expert -
"The Rig-Veda contains much information about farming in general. There are references to ploughs and plough teams drawn by a number of oxen; to the cutting, bundling and threshing of grain; to irrigation canals and wells; and to such foods as milk, butter, rice cakes, cereals, lentils and vegetables....there is no reference to any transaction of land that can be carried out by an individual. Most probably, therefore, there was some form of common ownership of land." [1]

[1]: Avari, B. (2007) India: The Ancient Past: A history of the India sub-continent from c. 7,000 BC to AD 1200. Routledge: London and New York. p70


256 Magadha - Maurya Empire present Confident Expert -
According to Conningham, Ashoka had wells dug for travellers. At Tilaco, there is a brick-lined water tank inside the city from this period which was for civic use [1] Regulations for "a place for keeping big jars for water". Layout of fortified settlement shows water storage area. [2] [3]

[1]: Conningham, Rob, pers. comm. Interview with Harvey Whitehouse and Christina Collins, Jan 2017

[2]: Radhakumud Mookerj, Chandragupta Maurya and His Times, Motilal Banarsidass Publications (1966), p.138. Higham, Charles. Encyclopedia of ancient Asian civilizations, p. 161

[3]: See Fig.11.5. Allchin, F. Raymond. The Archaeology of Early Historic South Asia: The Emergence of Cities and States. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.p.227.


257 Mughal Empire present Confident Expert -
[1] Canals, dighi (cisterns), nahar (small channels), qanat (underground channels), dams, ponds, neighbourhood wells, and impressive baoli were built to capture and transport river and monsoon rains. Drinking water within a princely household was managed by the darogha-i abdar, the superintendent of drinking water. Aristocrats often took water from the Ganges river, which was thought to be especially pure and also ice. [2] [3] [4] [5]

[1]: M.Conan,D.Oaks,The Middle East Garden Traditions, Unity, and Diversity: Questions, Methods and Resources in a Multicultural Perspective (2007)

[2]: Mark Harvey. 2015. Drinking Water: A Socio-economic Analysis of Historical and Societal Variation. Routledge. Abingdon.

[3]: Munis D. Faruqui. 2012. The Princes of the Mughal Empire, 1504–1719. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. p.278

[4]: Daljit Singh. 2004. Punjab Socio-Economic Condition (1501-1700 A.D.). Commonwealth Publishers.

[5]: James L Wescoat, Jr. Joachim Wolschke-Bulmahn. 1996. Mughal Gardens: Sources, Places, Representations, and Prospects. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. Washington, D.C. pp. 73-74


258 Vijayanagara Empire present Inferred Expert -
Certainly used wells [1] which suggest that they may not have had supply system infrastructure. Pipes, cisterns etc. In India open channels and pipes were widely used from the fifteenth century in urban settlements. The palace at Vijayanagara was fed this way by monsoon water. Other residents used wells, roadside wells, and also rainwater which was collected in tanks. [2] [1] [3]

[1]: Burton Stein, The New Cambridge History of India: Vijayanagara (1990), p. 34, 36

[2]: Dominic J. Davison-Jenkins. 1997. The Irrigation and Water Supply Systems of Vijayanagara. Manohar. p.88

[3]: Carla M Sinopoli. 1999. Levels of Complexity: Ceramic Variability at Vijayanagara. James M Skibo. Gary M Feinmann. eds. Pottery and People. The University of Utah Press. Salt Lake City. p. 119


259 Abbasid Caliphate I present Confident Expert -
Water provision was an important aspect of Abbasid city building. In the city of Fusat, water provision was provided by the cutting of large cisterns, pack animals carrying bags of water, and in richer homes water supplies for drinking and cooking/bathing. The Abbasid Caliphate also adopted the use of qanats, a persian tecnology. There is also evidence of the use of augmented Byzantine infrastructure, with the use of lifting devices to redirect supplies. The output of a large amount of drainpipes and other containers in potter workshops indicates sanitation and water as important concerns. [1] Water was crucial in Mosques because of the cleansing rituals. Drinking fountains were called Sabil. [2]

[1]: Milwright, Marcus. An introduction to Islamic archaeology. Edinburgh University Press, 2010, p. 93

[2]: (Bloom and Blair, eds. 2009, 77-78)


260 Early Dynastic present Confident Expert -
[1] Is this a piped network that connects the drinking water to individual settlements?

[1]: Delougaz 140, 38


261 Neo-Babylonian Empire absent Inferred Expert -
Wells are present in cities. [1] Was there a piped network to domestic residences? Presence of wells in cities suggests not - residents took their drinking water from the wells and brought it to their homes themselves.

[1]: Baker, H.D. 2012. The Neo-Babylonian Empire. In Potts, D.T. (ed.) A Companion to the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East. Volume II. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. p.916


262 Ubaid present Confident Expert -
"By far the most culturally informative site is the small Ubaid village of Tell Abada in the Hamrin, excavated by Sabah Abboud Jasim. The latest level (1) is especially interesting for its evidence of a community water supply. Remains of a lengthy system of terracotta water pipes was traced over half a kilometer to the north, leading apparently from a large wadi to a stone - lined basin (2.5 × 1.5 meters and c.1 meter deep). Further water pipes led from another source to the west." [1]

[1]: (Oates 2012: 478) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ETRKJE35.


263 Parthian Empire I present Inferred Expert -
knowledge and or infrastructure retained from the Achaemenid Empire era: "Darius ordered the reconstruction of the city of Sarod destroyed by the Greeks. Mendrokles presented to Darius a plan of the city, which was to be built over an area of 50 x 50 Ostad [1 Ostad = 200m]. Piped water and sewers were considered in the plan." [1] Fact knowledge may have been retained implied by complex water infrastructure in the new city of Dara: "Tridot or Tirdad, whose foresight rivaled that of Cyrus of Darius built a large city called Dara or Darium or Darius in the year 211 BC near the present day Abivard, to preserve the name of Darius the Great for prosperity. In this city the water flowed in closed conduits and there were provisions for sewers. All houses were equipped with heaters and central heating, which brought steam from a hot water tank to the rooms via a piping system." [2]

[1]: (Angelakis, Mays and Koutsoyiannis 2012, 94) Angelakis A N, Mays L W, Koutsoyiannis, D. 2012.Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.

[2]: (Angelakis, Mays and Koutsoyiannis 2012, 94-95) Angelakis A N, Mays L W, Koutsoyiannis, D. 2012.Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.


264 Parthian Empire II present Inferred Expert -
knowledge and or infrastructure retained from the Achaemenid Empire era: "Darius ordered the reconstruction of the city of Sarod destroyed by the Greeks. Mendrokles presented to Darius a plan of the city, which was to be built over an area of 50 x 50 Ostad [1 Ostad = 200m]. Piped water and sewers were considered in the plan." [1] Fact knowledge may have been retained implied by complex water infrastructure in the new city of Dara: "Tridot or Tirdad, whose foresight rivaled that of Cyrus of Darius built a large city called Dara or Darium or Darius in the year 211 BC near the present day Abivard, to preserve the name of Darius the Great for prosperity. In this city the water flowed in closed conduits and there were provisions for sewers. All houses were equipped with heaters and central heating, which brought steam from a hot water tank to the rooms via a piping system." [2]

[1]: (Angelakis, Mays and Koutsoyiannis 2012, 94) Angelakis A N, Mays L W, Koutsoyiannis, D. 2012.Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.

[2]: (Angelakis, Mays and Koutsoyiannis 2012, 94-95) Angelakis A N, Mays L W, Koutsoyiannis, D. 2012.Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.


265 Qajar present Confident Expert -
"in the 19th century Shamiran also provided Tehran’s water supply (and supplies much of it today), by means of subterranean channels (qanats, kariz)." [1]

[1]: (Bosworth ed. 2007, 503) ???. Tehran. C Edmund Bosworth. ed. 2007. Historic Cities of the Islamic World. BRILL. Leiden.


266 Safavid Empire present Confident Expert -
Shah Abbas had cisterns built. [1] Expanded qanat system started in the Iron Age that brought irrigation and likely drinking water from higher areas. This technology spread through the Near East and into Central Asia, as far as China and some parts of Eurasia. [2]

[1]: R. M. Savory, “’Abbas (I),” Encyclopædia Iranica" http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/abbas-i

[2]: (Miksic, John. Personal Communication to Jill Levine, Dan Hoyer, and Peter Turchin. April 2020. Email)


267 Sasanid Empire II present Confident Expert -
"In the year 326 AD when the city of Susa was destroyed during an earthquake, Shapur ordered it to be rebuilt with all the urban facilities, including water flowing in every house, a sewer system and a laundry in each neighbourhood (Hashami, 2010)." [1]

[1]: (Mahmoudian and Mahmoudian 2012, 95) Angelakis A N, Mays L W, Koutsoyiannis, D. 2012. Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.


268 Seleucids present Inferred Expert -
Persians may have had the technical know-how to implement drinking water supply systems. Earlier the Archaemenids c400 BCE considered piped water and sewers in a plan for the reconstruction of a city [1] whilst the Sassanians in 326 CE rebuilt the city of Susa "including water flowing in every house, a sewer system and a laundry in each neighbourhood (Hashami, 2010)." [2] [2]

[1]: (Mahmoudian and Mahmoudian 2012, 94) Angelakis A N, Mays L W, Koutsoyiannis, D. 2012.Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.

[2]: (Mahmoudian and Mahmoudian 2012, 95) Angelakis A N, Mays L W, Koutsoyiannis, D. 2012. Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.


269 Seljuk Sultanate present Confident Expert -
Seljuks built aqueducts. [1] There were cisterns beneath caravanserai. [1] Mountain top castles "created problems of water supply, which was solved through complex systems of canals and reservoirs." [2]

[1]: (Starr 2013) Starr, S. Frederick. 2013. Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia’s Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane. Princeton University Press. Princeton.

[2]: (Peacock 2015, 242-243) Peacock, A C S. 2015. The Great Seljuk Empire. Edinburgh University Press Ltd. Edinburgh.


270 Latium - Iron Age unknown Suspected Expert -
A pipe network that connects the drinking water to individual settlements is not known to exist / not thought to be present.
271 Ostrogothic Kingdom present Confident Expert -
According to the Bishop of Ravenna, Theodoric: "He restored the aqueduct of Ravenna, which Trajan had built; and again, after a long interval, brought water into the city." [1] "At Rome also the officer who was specially charged with the maintenance of these noble works, the "Count of the Aqueducts", was exhorted to show his zeal by rooting up hurtful trees, and by at once repairing any part of the masonry that seemed to be falling into decay through age." [1] Water channels used for fresh water in Early Medieval Italy. However, not necessarily built by state. "From the fourth century onward, in fact, water evergetism in the peninsular survived by assuming new forms. Much as was the case in ninth-century Le Mans, in late antique Italy bishops replaced secular builders of aqueducts. Indeed, by Aldric’s day, Italy had developed a distinguished tradition of episcopal involvement in urban water supply. [2]

[1]: (Hodgkin 1897)

[2]: (Squatriti 2002, 13) Paolo Squatriti. 2002. Water and Society in Early Medieval Italy, AD 400-1000. Cambridge University Press.


272 Rome - Republic of St Peter II present Confident Expert -
The papacy restored and maintained aqueducts (from c800), among other buildings, which at the time "certainly attest to the very great wealth of the papacy in the early Carolingian period, and to the preparedness of popes to spend that wealth very ambitiously." [1] Buildings and restorations mostly occurred in the early 9th century. After this time the code would be for the maintenance of these systems.

[1]: (Wickham 2015, 155) Wickham, C. 2015. Medieval Rome: Stability and Crisis of a City, 900-1150. Oxford University Press. Oxford.


273 Exarchate of Ravenna present Inferred Expert -
Baths and water supply system still operational at time of Agnellus writing early 9th CE. [1] Water channels used for fresh water in Early Medieval Italy. However, not necessarily built by state. "From the fourth century onward, in fact, water evergetism in the peninsular survived by assuming new forms. Much as was the case in ninth-century Le Mans, in late antique Italy bishops replaced secular builders of aqueducts. Indeed, by Aldric’s day, Italy had developed a distinguished tradition of episcopal involvement in urban water supply. [2] At least until the barbarian invasions Ravenna had a "dense urban fabric that included public amenities such as theaters and baths, acqueducts and sewers, elaborate Roman-style houses for the elite, and evidence of long-distance trade." [3] "Ravenna was not, as far as we know, sacked in any of the invasions or wars that beset the Italian peninsular, perhaps testimony to its perceived invulnerability provided by the swamps of the Adriatic coast." [3]

[1]: (Deliyannis 2010, 297) Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.

[2]: (Squatriti 2002, 13) Paolo Squatriti. 2002. Water and Society in Early Medieval Italy, AD 400-1000. Cambridge University Press.

[3]: (Deliyannis 2010, 4) Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.


274 Late Roman Republic present Confident Expert -
Maintenance of existing aqueduct network. At Rome nearly all aqueducts began in the Sabine Hills, in the valley of the river Anio. Waters, such as from the (previously built) Aqua Marcia, would take 15-20 hours to reach the city. At the city the water would enter a distribution tank, before traveling through the terracotta or lead-pipe network. The best evidence for piped urban water networking has been found at Pompeii. The water had three main destinations: street fountains, baths and domestic. The majority of Romans gained their fresh water from street fountains. For domestic use, water supply was controlled by the size of a bronze nozzle (adjutage) that connected the masonry channel to the leadpipe that entered the house. Domestic water was probably paid for with a "water tax". [1]

[1]: (Evans 2013)


275 Middle Roman Republic present Confident Expert -
The Aqua Marcia aqueduct was built between 144-140 BCE.
276 Inca Empire present Confident Disputed Expert -
In Cuzco gutters ran down the middle of paved streets [1] (which took the water away). Fountains and springs [2] - did these provide drinking water or were they for ceremonial use? In Ollantaytambo: "Canals running through the streets provided fresh water and may have carried away effluent." [3] Alan Covey: There’s no reference to a formal system of drinking water being brought to Cuzco (the way that Roman aqueducts fed basins and fountains). More likely that local springs provided water. [4] According to Wright, Tipon was a hydro-engineering feat due to its canals, plazas, aqueducts, and fountains--infrastructure that transformed a remote mountainside into a true engineering marvel. [5]

[1]: (Bauer 2004, 110)

[2]: (Bauer 2004, 132)

[3]: (D’Altroy 2014, 221)

[4]: (Covey 2015, personal communication)

[5]: Wright, K. 2006. Tipon: Water Engineering Masterpiece of the Inca Empire. American Society of Civil Engineers


277 Roman Empire - Principate present Confident Expert -
At Rome nearly all aqueducts begin in Sabine Hills, in the valley of the river Anio. Waters, such as from the (previously built) Aqua Marcia, would take 15-20 hours to reach the city. At the city the water would enter a distribution tank, before travelling through the terracota or lead-pipe network. The best evidence for piped urban water networking has been found at Pompeii. The water had three main destinations: street fountains, baths and domestic. Most Romans gained their fresh water from street fountains. For domestic use, water supply was controlled by size of bronze nozzle (adjutage) that connected the masonry channel to the lead pipe that entered the house. Domestic water was probably paid for with a "water tax". [1] Arsinoe, metropolis in Egypt (capital town of a nome) "had running water supplied by two reservoirs into which water was pumped from an arm of the Nile." [2] By the 3rd century CE, there were 11 aqueduct lines into Rome [3] which we can infer required maintenance. Under Claudius (41-54 CE) Aqua Claudius and Anio Novis were built with a gradient which fell several inches every 100 feet. Tunnels were precisely angled and key stone arch used for 6 mile column of arches that carried water into Rome. Waters were distributed to public drinking fountains, public baths and other buildings, and to wealthy Romans who paid for running water [3] .

[1]: (Evans 2013, [24])

[2]: (Peacock 2000, 416)

[3]: (Canciello 2005)


278 Roman Kingdom absent Confident Expert -
A pipe network that connects the drinking water to individual settlements is not known to exist / not thought to be present. First aqueduct commissioned by Appius Claudius Caecus 312 BCE. "The wall, made from blocks of volcanic tuff, appeared to have been built to channel water from an aquifer under the Capitoline hill" [1]

[1]: (Hooper, J. Sunday 13 April 2014 17.38 BST. "Archaeologists’ findings may prove Rome a century older than thought" The Guardian. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/13/archaelogists-find-rome-century-older-than-thought)


279 Republic of St Peter I present Confident Expert -
Water channels used for fresh water in Early Medieval Italy. However, not necessarily built by state. "From the fourth century onward, in fact, water evergetism in the peninsular survived by assuming new forms. Much as was the case in ninth-century Le Mans, in late antique Italy bishops replaced secular builders of aqueducts. Indeed, by Aldric’s day, Italy had developed a distinguished tradition of episcopal involvement in urban water supply. [1] In 770s CE Pope Hadrian restored four ancient aqueducts [2] Aqueduct waters made available outside church compound. Rome, Benevento, Milan benefited from aqueducts in eighth century. Byzantine Ravenna and Naples had maintained aqueducts to eighth century. [3] Aqueduct maintenance became a Papal responsibility by end of seventh century. [4]

[1]: (Squatriti 2002, 13) Paolo Squatriti. 2002. Water and Society in Early Medieval Italy, AD 400-1000. Cambridge University Press.

[2]: (Squatriti 2002, 14)

[3]: (Squatriti 2002, 14-16)

[4]: (Partner 1972, 9)


280 Republic of Venice III present Inferred Expert -
"Yes, for centuries, the Venetians developed a providential design of their own destiny: only God could allow life to thrive in the midst of salt water. ... For centuries, the community gave no priority to efforts at coastal defense. It was necessary to build, create, and beautify, to organize the supply of drinking water. Here the rare documentary evidence is consistent with the narrative sources. The city thus initially focused on growing and resolving day by day the difficulties related to the site." [1]

[1]: (Crouzet-Pavan 2014, 38) Elisabeth Crouzet-Pavan. Venice and Its Surroundings. Eric Dursteler. ed. 2014. A Companion to Venetian History, 1400-1797. BRILL. Leiden.


281 Republic of Venice IV present Inferred Expert -
"Yes, for centuries, the Venetians developed a providential design of their own destiny: only God could allow life to thrive in the midst of salt water. ... For centuries, the community gave no priority to efforts at coastal defense. It was necessary to build, create, and beautify, to organize the supply of drinking water. Here the rare documentary evidence is consistent with the narrative sources. The city thus initially focused on growing and resolving day by day the difficulties related to the site." [1]

[1]: (Crouzet-Pavan 2014, 38) Elisabeth Crouzet-Pavan. Venice and Its Surroundings. Eric Dursteler. ed. 2014. A Companion to Venetian History, 1400-1797. BRILL. Leiden.


282 Japan - Azuchi-Momoyama present Confident Expert -
’The period when any particular water supply system was constructed also had a lot to do with its design. A great many of the water supply systems that were laid out during the final decades of the sixteenth century or in the early seventeenth century were constructed principally to provide water to the moats that surrounded the castle or to the canals that functioned both as defensive moats and as sources of drinking water.’ [1]

[1]: McClain, James L., John M. Merriman, and Kaoru Ugawa, (eds.) 1997. Edo and Paris: Urban Life and the State in the Early Modern Era. Cornell University Press.p.241


283 Tokugawa Shogunate present Confident Expert -
[1] ‘early in the Tokugawa period, when Edo was growing rapidly, an elaborate water supply system was created that drew on rivers and ponds in the hinterland to the west... the water was distributed through a complex system of channels and ditches in the overland portion and then underground through a main conduit of stone and secondary lines of wooden planks with bamboo tubes which led to individual shallow wells where people could get buckets of water. These waterworks were initially built by the shogunate at its own expense, but later the coast of maintaining the system was almost entirely shifted onto the merchants and artisans who used it.’ [2]

[1]: Totman, Conrad. 1993. Early Modern Japan. University of California Press. Berkeley; London.p.66.

[2]: Sorensen, André. 2005. The Making of Urban Japan: Cities and Planning from Edo to the Twenty First Century. Routledge.p.41


284 Kingdom of Cayor present Confident -
Wells. “Since their consolidation as a distinct ethnic group, the Wolof have inhabited a harsh ecological zone characterized by little rainfall, sparse vegetation and sand soil suitable only for a small number of crops such as millet and peanuts. Their social hierarchy was efficient in mobilizing labor for, among other things, the digging of wells, and it also produced military expertise to defend people from attacks originating in the Sahara.” [1]

[1]: (McLaughlin 2008, 148) McLaughlin, Fiona. 2008. ‘The Ascent of Wolof as an Urban Vernacular and National Lingua Franca in Senegal.’ In Globalization and Language Vitality: Perspectives from Africa. Edited by Cecile B. Vigouroux. London: Bloomsbury Academic. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/NR5ED4G4/collection


285 Kara-Khanids present Confident Expert -
Residents of Central Asian cities "including slaves, had good access to running water" [1] "Within the cities the maze of underground pipes of baked clay that served public baths and private homes became yet more complex, for they included valves, catch basins, and access points for cleaning, as well as exceedingly complex changes of gradients. ... intricate underground pipe systems that provided urban dwellings with potable water." [1] In one of the Kara-Khanid capitals, Balasagun: "In the area of this outer ring stood at least five semi-urban estates, large walled compounds with dozens of rooms and broad central corridors up to a hundred feet in length. Running water, baths, and under-the-floor heating systems rendered these multistoried estates very comfortable, even by modern standards." [1] "Archaeologists have discovered ceramic water pipes" [2]

[1]: (Starr 2013) Starr, S. Frederick. 2013. Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia’s Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane. Princeton University Press. Princeton.

[2]: (Davidovich 1997, 148) Davidovich, E A. in Asimov, M S and Bosworth, C E eds. 1997. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume IV. Part I. UNESCO.


286 Classical Angkor present Confident Expert -
‘The importance of preserving this watershed as a source of water for the rice paddies and to fill the city’s transportation canals and municipal water system was clearly understood by the earliest inhabitants of the area’ [1] ‘Each water-based feature fulfilled several functions. Barays provided agricultural and domestic water, and fish and plant foods. Canals channeled water for public sanitation, and transport arteries. Embankments and dikes were usually oriented east-west following the contours and acted both as levees ti control floods and elevated causeways for roads. Moats surrounding temples, monuments, and inhabited areas also fulfilled several functions: they served as sacred boundaries, they were a source of domestic water and food, and they provided fill for foundations to raise the level of the terrain for drainage and protection. Access to domestic water was provided by tanks and basins dug into the water table.’ [2] ’More recently, a similar pattern was identified in the spacing of rectangular water tanks (trapeang) at four or five kilometre intervals along most of the Angkorian roads (Hendrickson 2004). This combined information points to an elaborate road network with a centrally-planned infrastructure to support the regular movement of people across a region’ [3]
’As the population in chiefly urban centers grew, so steps had to be taken to conserve and reticulate water. This was achieved by digging circular moats around settlements and allowing water to flow into the rice fields beyond. It is likely that such a system was used only to maintain the absence of wet season rains, and the moats would have also supplied the populace with water, defines, and aquatic food.’ [4]

[1]: (Engelhardt 1995, p.19)

[2]: (Engelhardt 1995, p.25)

[3]: (Hendrickson 2012, p.86)

[4]: (Hingham 2012, p. 184)


287 Early Angkor present Confident Expert -
‘The importance of preserving this watershed as a source of water for the rice paddies and to fill the city’s transportation canals and municipal water system was clearly understood by the earliest inhabitants of the area’ [1] ‘Each water-based feature fulfilled several functions. Barays provided agricultural and domestic water, and fish and plant foods. Canals channeled water for public sanitation, and transport arteries. Embankments and dikes were usually oriented east-west following the contours and acted both as levees ti control floods and elevated causeways for roads. Moats surrounding temples, monuments, and inhabited areas also fulfilled several functions: they served as sacred boundaries, they were a source of domestic water and food, and they provided fill for foundations to raise the level of the terrain for drainage and protection. Access to domestic water was provided by tanks and basins dug into the water table.’ [2] ’More recently, a similar pattern was identified in the spacing of rectangular water tanks (trapeang) at four or five kilometre intervals along most of the Angkorian roads (Hendrickson 2004). This combined information points to an elaborate road network with a centrally-planned infrastructure to support the regular movement of people across a region’ [3] ’As the population in chiefly urban centers grew, so steps had to be taken to conserve and reticulate water. This was achieved by digging circular moats around settlements and allowing water to flow into the rice fields beyond. It is likely that such a system was used only to maintain the absence of wet season rains, and the moats would have also supplied the populace with water, defines, and aquatic food.’ [4]

[1]: (Engelhardt 1995, p.19)

[2]: (Engelhardt 1995, p.25)

[3]: (Hendrickson 2012, p.86)

[4]: (Hingham 2012, p. 184)


288 Monte Alban III present Confident Expert -
A wall was built to dam a reservoir in the northern section of Monte Alban. [1]

[1]: Flannery, K. V. and J. Marcus (1983). "The Cloud People." New York, p85


289 Late Angkor present Confident Expert -
‘The importance of preserving this watershed as a source of water for the rice paddies and to fill the city’s transportation canals and municipal water system was clearly understood by the earliest inhabitants of the area’ [1] ‘Each water-based feature fulfilled several functions. Barays provided agricultural and domestic water, and fish and plant foods. Canals channeled water for public sanitation, and transport arteries. Embankments and dikes were usually oriented east-west following the contours and acted both as levees ti control floods and elevated causeways for roads. Moats surrounding temples, monuments, and inhabited areas also fulfilled several functions: they served as sacred boundaries, they were a source of domestic water and food, and they provided fill for foundations to raise the level of the terrain for drainage and protection. Access to domestic water was provided by tanks and basins dug into the water table.’ [2] ’More recently, a similar pattern was identified in the spacing of rectangular water tanks (trapeang) at four or five kilometre intervals along most of the Angkorian roads (Hendrickson 2004). This combined information points to an elaborate road network with a centrally-planned infrastructure to support the regular movement of people across a region’ [3] ’As the population in chiefly urban centers grew, so steps had to be taken to conserve and reticulate water. This was achieved by digging circular moats around settlements and allowing water to flow into the rice fields beyond. It is likely that such a system was used only to maintain the absence of wet season rains, and the moats would have also supplied the populace with water, defines, and aquatic food.’ [4]

[1]: (Engelhardt 1995, p.19)

[2]: (Engelhardt 1995, p.25)

[3]: (Hendrickson 2012, p.86)

[4]: (Hingham 2012, p. 184)


290 Khmer Kingdom present Confident Expert -
‘The importance of preserving this watershed as a source of water for the rice paddies and to fill the city’s transportation canals and municipal water system was clearly understood by the earliest inhabitants of the area’ [1] ‘Each water-based feature fulfilled several functions. Barays provided agricultural and domestic water, and fish and plant foods. Canals channeled water for public sanitation, and transport arteries. Embankments and dikes were usually oriented east-west following the contours and acted both as levees ti control floods and elevated causeways for roads. Moats surrounding temples, monuments, and inhabited areas also fulfilled several functions: they served as sacred boundaries, they were a source of domestic water and food, and they provided fill for foundations to raise the level of the terrain for drainage and protection. Access to domestic water was provided by tanks and basins dug into the water table.’ [2] ’More recently, a similar pattern was identified in the spacing of rectangular water tanks (trapeang) at four or five kilometre intervals along most of the Angkorian roads (Hendrickson 2004). This combined information points to an elaborate road network with a centrally-planned infrastructure to support the regular movement of people across a region’ [3] ’As the population in chiefly urban centers grew, so steps had to be taken to conserve and reticulate water. This was achieved by digging circular moats around settlements and allowing water to flow into the rice fields beyond. It is likely that such a system was used only to maintain the absence of wet season rains, and the moats would have also supplied the populace with water, defines, and aquatic food.’ [4]

[1]: (Engelhardt 1995, p.19)

[2]: (Engelhardt 1995, p.25)

[3]: (Hendrickson 2012, p.86)

[4]: (Hingham 2012, p. 184)


291 Chenla present Confident Expert -
’While there is no evidence of large-scale irrigation projects during this period, ’what may have represented small-scale irrigation was carried out at the level of the local communities, under the leadership of local upon and other chiefs. [...] [N]o remains of large hydraulic works have been discovered for the period between Funan and Angkor. Evidence that some organized digging occurred for water management or fish capture, is in the numerous references to trapan, artificial ponds.’ [1] ’The largest and best-documented centre was known as Isanapura, the city of Isanavarman. It is dominated by three walled precincts containing brick temples and sunken pools. The inscriptions record a dynasty of kings, including Isanavarman himself, who ruled there during the early seventh century. The site also includes a large rectangular reservoir, and rice field boundaries lie beyond the limits of this centre (Shimoda 2010). A description of the court of this period has survived in a compilation by the Chinese historian Ma Duanlin (1883), who mentioned a palace, guards, a large populace and regular royal audiences.’ [2] ’These [reservoirs] were probably multi-purpose, involving supplying the moats, religious foundations and urban populace with water, and for irrigating rice fields.’ [3]

[1]: (Vickery 1998, 306)

[2]: (Higham 2014, 830)

[3]: (Higham 2014b, 291)


292 Funan I present Confident Expert -
’The Liangshu also notes that "Where they live, they do not dig wells. In groups of several tens of families they have a pond in common where they draw water." [...].’ [1] ’The manipulation of water has a long history in South- east Asia. This reflects the monsoon climate, with its sharp contrast between the wet and the dry seasons. In the former, there is a superabundance of water in the lowlands, and flooding is widespread. During the latter, months can go by without any rainfall. This pattern encouraged communities, as they grew in size and popu- lation numbers, to control water flows, usually by build- ing up earthen dikes to form reservoirs. These banks ring many large Iron Age sites, and where dated, fall within 1 to 400 C.E. During the life of the states of FUNAN and CHENLA, water was retained in rectangular reservoirs known as BARAYS. None was large enough to have any influence on rice production, but they could have satis- fied domestic needs, as well as fulfilled a symbolic role as the oceans that surround the mythical home of the Hindu gods.’ [2]

[1]: (Jacques and Lafond 2007, p. 51)

[2]: (Higham 2004, p. 162)


293 Funan II present Confident Expert -
’The Liangshu also notes that "Where they live, they do not dig wells. In groups of several tens of families they have a pond in common where they draw water." [...].’ [1] ’The manipulation of water has a long history in South-east Asia. This reflects the monsoon climate, with its sharp contrast between the wet and the dry seasons. In the former, there is a superabundance of water in the lowlands, and flooding is widespread. During the latter, months can go by without any rainfall. This pattern encouraged communities, as they grew in size and popu- lation numbers, to control water flows, usually by building up earthen dikes to form reservoirs. These banks ring many large Iron Age sites, and where dated, fall within 1 to 400 C.E. During the life of the states of FUNAN and CHENLA, water was retained in rectangular reservoirs known as BARAYS. None was large enough to have any influence on rice production, but they could have satis- fied domestic needs, as well as fulfilled a symbolic role as the oceans that surround the mythical home of the Hindu gods.’ [2]

[1]: (Jacques and Lafond 2007, p. 51)

[2]: (Higham 2004, p. 162)


294 Archaic Basin of Mexico absent Inferred Expert -
The following suggests that perhaps "community-focus structures" developed later. A Middle Archaic example of open-air site is Gheo-Shih [Oaxaca Valley], which is a field marked by boulders and kept clean. This is considered to be one of Mesoamerica’s earliest example of a community-focus structure, such as the plaza, temple-pyramid, and palace, all of which developed in the Formative and later periods. [1]

[1]: (Evans 2004: 92) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/EWW3Q2TA.


295 Early Formative Basin of Mexico absent Inferred Expert -
None have been found, and given the abundance of streams, springs, and freshwater lakes in the region during the Formative, and it seems unlikely that household water supplies would have been necessary. [1] [2] [3] [4]

[1]: Serra Puche, Mari Carmen (1986). "Unidades Habitacionales del Formativo en la Cuenca de Mexico." In Unidades Habitacionales Mesoamericanas y Sus Areas de Actividad, ed. L. Manzanilla. Mexico City: UNAM, 161-192.

[2]: Paul Tolstoy. (1989) "Coapexco and Tlatilco: sites with Olmec material in the Basin of Mexico", In Regional Perspectives on the Olmec, Robert J. Sharer & David C. Grove (eds.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pg. 87-121.

[3]: Flannery, Kent V. (1976). "The Early Mesoamerican House." In The Early Mesoamerican Village, ed. K. V. Flannery. New York: Academic Press, 16-24.

[4]: Niederberger, Christine. (1979) "Early Sedentary Economy in the Basin of Mexico" Science 203(4376):131-142.


296 Inca Empire absent Inferred Disputed Expert -
In Cuzco gutters ran down the middle of paved streets [1] (which took the water away). Fountains and springs [2] - did these provide drinking water or were they for ceremonial use? In Ollantaytambo: "Canals running through the streets provided fresh water and may have carried away effluent." [3] Alan Covey: There’s no reference to a formal system of drinking water being brought to Cuzco (the way that Roman aqueducts fed basins and fountains). More likely that local springs provided water. [4] According to Wright, Tipon was a hydro-engineering feat due to its canals, plazas, aqueducts, and fountains--infrastructure that transformed a remote mountainside into a true engineering marvel. [5]

[1]: (Bauer 2004, 110)

[2]: (Bauer 2004, 132)

[3]: (D’Altroy 2014, 221)

[4]: (Covey 2015, personal communication)

[5]: Wright, K. 2006. Tipon: Water Engineering Masterpiece of the Inca Empire. American Society of Civil Engineers


297 Wari Empire present Confident Expert -
Sub-subterranean canals under Pikillacta may be drainage or water supply. [1] Canals, aqueducts, reservoirs and field systems constructed to support work at Pikillacta. [2] In the capital Wari, a "system of canals and drains provided water to residents and allowed waste water to leave the city." Aqueducts were used to transport water for urban consumption. [3]

[1]: (McEwan ed. 2005, 83)

[2]: (McEwan ed. 2005, 83 Cite: Alfredo Valencia)

[3]: (McEwan and Williams in Bergh 2012, 65, 74)


298 Orokaiva - Pre-Colonial absent Confident Expert -
The absence of irrigation systems suggests that drinking water was collected from streams nearby rather than supply systems: ’Very full data on the size of these gardens have been provided by Crocombe and Hogbin (1963) and Rimoldi (1966). A household tends to establish something like one and a half to two acres of garden per year. A garden is never used for more than one taro season, but as planting and consumption of the taro each tend to be stretched over most of a year, almost two years elapse between the clearing and final abandonment. This gives time for the bananas and sugar-cane to reach maturity too. Once a garden is abandoned, it is not used again for at least eight years or so. The usual swidden agriculture techniques are used, burning, clearing, careful removal of ‘rubbish’ remaining after the burning process, planting with a digging stick, periodic attention to weeding and heaping up of earth around growing taro, removal of corm-bearing bases of petioles of mature taro for removal and planting in a new garden. The Orokaiva practise no irrigation, no form of terracing or drainage, no manuring, no measures against parasites. Sometimes a fence is made out of tree trunks to keep pigs from breaking in. This is usually done only after a pig has made its first expedition, and only on the side where the pig entered.’ [1]

[1]: Schwimmer, Eric G. 1973. “Exchange In The Social Structure Of The Orokaiva: Traditional And Emergent Ideologies In The Northern District Of Papua”, 20


299 Orokaiva - Colonial absent Confident Expert -
The absence of irrigation systems suggests that drinking water was collected from streams nearby rather than supply systems: ’Very full data on the size of these gardens have been provided by Crocombe and Hogbin (1963) and Rimoldi (1966). A household tends to establish something like one and a half to two acres of garden per year. A garden is never used for more than one taro season, but as planting and consumption of the taro each tend to be stretched over most of a year, almost two years elapse between the clearing and final abandonment. This gives time for the bananas and sugar-cane to reach maturity too. Once a garden is abandoned, it is not used again for at least eight years or so. The usual swidden agriculture techniques are used, burning, clearing, careful removal of ‘rubbish’ remaining after the burning process, planting with a digging stick, periodic attention to weeding and heaping up of earth around growing taro, removal of corm-bearing bases of petioles of mature taro for removal and planting in a new garden. The Orokaiva practise no irrigation, no form of terracing or drainage, no manuring, no measures against parasites. Sometimes a fence is made out of tree trunks to keep pigs from breaking in. This is usually done only after a pig has made its first expedition, and only on the side where the pig entered.’ [1] [Even in colonial settlements, services were of a makeshift character.]

[1]: Schwimmer, Eric G. 1973. “Exchange In The Social Structure Of The Orokaiva: Traditional And Emergent Ideologies In The Northern District Of Papua”, 20


300 Kachi Plain - Proto-Historic Period present Inferred Expert -
Based on plant remains, including rice suggests a certain degree of control over water to produce food. Also reported discovery of large channel running along western side of Pirak during Pirak IA [1] .

[1]: Ceccarelli, pers. comm. to E. Cioni, Feb 2017)


301 Kachi Plain - Urban Period I present Confident Expert -
"Water played a vital part in the life of the Harappan people, and they were skilled hydraulic engineers. Michael Jansen has calculated that there were seven hundred or more wells at Mohenjo-daro, present in one in three houses. Those without a well of their own, however, were served by the public water supply, and the great wear around the rims of wells in houses suggests that they too were used by more than the immediate household. Grooves in the well curb show that water was drawn using containers, such as pots or wood buckets, attached to ropes. The huge number of wells at Mohenjo-daro indicates that the city was too far from the river for convenience; Jansen (1987) suggests that pits dug to extract clay for construction filled with rainwater and may been used as an additional water source for the city." [1]

[1]: (McIntosh 2008, 235) Jane McIntosh. 2008. The Ancient Indus Valley. Santa Barbara; Denver; Oxford: ABC-CLIO.


302 Kachi Plain - Urban Period II present Confident Expert -
"Water played a vital part in the life of the Harappan people, and they were skilled hydraulic engineers. Michael Jansen has calculated that there were seven hundred or more wells at Mohenjo-daro, present in one in three houses. Those without a well of their own, however, were served by the public water supply, and the great wear around the rims of wells in houses suggests that they too were used by more than the immediate household. Grooves in the well curb show that water was drawn using containers, such as pots or wood buckets, attached to ropes. The huge number of wells at Mohenjo-daro indicates that the city was too far from the river for convenience; Jansen (1987) suggests that pits dug to extract clay for construction filled with rainwater and may been used as an additional water source for the city." [1]

[1]: (McIntosh 2008, 235) Jane McIntosh. 2008. The Ancient Indus Valley. Santa Barbara; Denver; Oxford: ABC-CLIO.


303 Sakha - Early absent Confident Expert -
In the pre-Russian period, the Sakha were transhumant pastoralists rather than farmers. Even in the early Russian period, settlements were built in close proximity to freshwater streams and lakes: ’It is watered [Page 327] from an ice-hole at the nearest river or lake. In spring it is often necessary to cut deep pathways in the ice, towards the old, exhausted ice-holes in order to secure the cattle access to the water. The cattle frequently kneel as they drink, while calves and horses drink out of buckets filled with water. The water in such old ice holes is nauseatingk putrid, and smells of hydrogen sulfide and of swamp. In order to diminish the freezing of the ice-holes during the night, the Yakut frequently cover them with straw covers and with snow. In this connection I may note that the ice on the lakes with ice-holes freezes apparently in a thicker layer than on the lakes on which no ice-holes are cut. In spring, [Page 328] when the nearest watering places are exhausted or have been frozen up, it becomes necessary on occasions to drive the cattle to a watering place about two viersts away, which is very inconvenient. That is why the selection of a place of settlement is strongly influenced by the nearness of the winter watering place. In hard frost, the watered cattle, shaking from cold, is driven into [Page 329] the warm cattle sheds where some feed is prepared for them in the mangers. In spring they have a little hay of a worse sort right in the enclosures. The calves, which all through the winter are kept in human dwellings, are fed and watered there, with the water on many occasions warmed up before the calves receive it. The cows that have just given birth to calves are also fed in the cattle sheds. Such cows are not taken 158 to water for 3-4 days and are instead given warm water to drink.’ [1] Tokarev’s material suggests that irrigation systems and water pumps did not become common prior to the Soviet period: ’Many farms use water wheels and pumps to water their gardens. In 1952, more than 300,000 hectares of land, chiefly green meadows and pastureland, were irrigated by means of both permanent and temporary installations. The first specialized meadow-reclamation station had been set up in the Gorniy Rayon.’ [2]

[1]: Sieroszewski, Wacław 1993. “Yakut: An Experiment In Ethnographic Research”, 326pp

[2]: Tokarev, S. A., and Gurvich I. S. 1964. “Yakuts”, 291


304 Sakha - Late absent Confident Expert -
Settlements were built in close proximity to freshwater streams and lakes: ’It is watered [Page 327] from an ice-hole at the nearest river or lake. In spring it is often necessary to cut deep pathways in the ice, towards the old, exhausted ice-holes in order to secure the cattle access to the water. The cattle frequently kneel as they drink, while calves and horses drink out of buckets filled with water. The water in such old ice holes is nauseatingk putrid, and smells of hydrogen sulfide and of swamp. In order to diminish the freezing of the ice-holes during the night, the Yakut frequently cover them with straw covers and with snow. In this connection I may note that the ice on the lakes with ice-holes freezes apparently in a thicker layer than on the lakes on which no ice-holes are cut. In spring, [Page 328] when the nearest watering places are exhausted or have been frozen up, it becomes necessary on occasions to drive the cattle to a watering place about two viersts away, which is very inconvenient. That is why the selection of a place of settlement is strongly influenced by the nearness of the winter watering place. In hard frost, the watered cattle, shaking from cold, is driven into [Page 329] the warm cattle sheds where some feed is prepared for them in the mangers. In spring they have a little hay of a worse sort right in the enclosures. The calves, which all through the winter are kept in human dwellings, are fed and watered there, with the water on many occasions warmed up before the calves receive it. The cows that have just given birth to calves are also fed in the cattle sheds. Such cows are not taken 158 to water for 3-4 days and are instead given warm water to drink.’ [1] Tokarev’s material suggests that irrigation systems and water pumps did not become common prior to the Soviet period: ’Many farms use water wheels and pumps to water their gardens. In 1952, more than 300,000 hectares of land, chiefly green meadows and pastureland, were irrigated by means of both permanent and temporary installations. The first specialized meadow-reclamation station had been set up in the Gorniy Rayon.’ [2]

[1]: Sieroszewski, Wacław 1993. “Yakut: An Experiment In Ethnographic Research”, 326pp

[2]: Tokarev, S. A., and Gurvich I. S. 1964. “Yakuts”, 291


305 Rattanakosin present Confident Expert -
Inferred from the fact that such a thing seems to have first been established in the polity in the seventeenth century. Falvey [1] writes of "the construction of the first storage irrigation system in 1633 in Ayutthaya, an echo of the Khmer storage barai". "Each water-based feature fulfilled several functions. Barays provided agricultural and domestic water, and fish and plant foods. Canals channeled water for public sanitation, and transport arteries. Embankments and dikes were usually oriented east-west following the contours and acted both as levees ti control floods and elevated causeways for roads. Moats surrounding temples, monuments, and inhabited areas also fulfilled several functions: they served as sacred boundaries, they were a source of domestic water and food, and they provided fill for foundations to raise the level of the terrain for drainage and protection. Access to domestic water was provided by tanks and basins dug into the water table.’ [2]

[1]: (Falvey 2000, p. 129)

[2]: (Engelhardt 1995, p.25)


306 Fatimid Caliphate present Confident Expert -
Water wheel. [1] "992 water carriers were ordered to cover their containers to avoid splashing passersby" [2] Better residential houses had amenities such as water distribution and waste-water removal. [3] General reference medieval Islamic cities: "Only the wealthy could afford indoor plumbing or ovens as part of their residences." [4] Mansuriyya in Tunisia "had water brought from the distant spring of ’Ayn Ayyub through an aqueduct modeled on the Roman system at Carthage." [5]

[1]: (Raymond 2000, 65)

[2]: (Raymond 2000, 55)

[3]: (Raymond 2000, 68)

[4]: (Lindsay 2005, 123) Lindsay, James E. 2005. Daily Life in The Medieval Islamic World. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. Indianapolis.

[5]: (Qutbuddin 2011, 39) Qutbuddin, Tahera. Fatimids. Ramsamy, Edward. ed. 2011. Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Volume 2. Africa. Sage. Los Angeles.


307 Byzantine Empire I present Confident Expert -
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] Cisterns of St Mocius, Philoxenus and Illus (Yerebatansaray), Acqueduct of Valens in Constantinople. [2] "Over 150 covered cisterns and reservoirs survive of the complex water programme, the most impressive of which is the Basilica Cistern (Yerebatansaray) (Crow and Bayliss 2005)." [3]

[1]: (Johannes Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)

[2]: (Haussig 1971, 166) Haussig, H W. trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.

[3]: (Hennessey 2008, 213) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.


308 Byzantine Empire II present Confident Expert -
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] Cisterns of St Mocius, Philoxenus and Illus (Yerebatansaray), Acqueduct of Valens in Constantinople. [2] "Over 150 covered cisterns and reservoirs survive of the complex water programme, the most impressive of which is the Basilica Cistern (Yerebatansaray) (Crow and Bayliss 2005)." [3]

[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)

[2]: (Haussig 1971, 166) Haussig, H W. trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.

[3]: (Hennessey 2008, 213) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.


309 Byzantine Empire III present Confident Expert -
Preiser-Kapeller says present. [1] Cisterns of St Mocius, Philoxenus and Illus (Yerebatansaray), Acqueduct of Valens in Constantinople. [2] "Over 150 covered cisterns and reservoirs survive of the complex water programme, the most impressive of which is the Basilica Cistern (Yerebatansaray) (Crow and Bayliss 2005)." [3]

[1]: (Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)

[2]: (Haussig 1971, 166) Haussig, H W. trans Hussey, J M. 1971. History of Byzantine Civilization. Thames and Hudson.

[3]: (Hennessey 2008, 213) Jeffreys E, Haldon J and Cormack R eds. 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford.


310 Hatti - Old Kingdom present Confident Expert -
e. g. Hattusa [1]

[1]: Wittenberg H. and A. Schachner (2012) The Ponds of Hattuša - Early Groundwater Management in the Hittite Kingdom [In:] IWA Specialized Conference on Water&Wastewater Technologies in Ancient Civilizations 22-24 March 2012 Instabul, pp. 313-319.


311 Lysimachus Kingdom present Inferred Expert -
There were public fountains in the Greek Kingdoms of Central Asia [1] Something referred to as a "fountain building" in earlier Macedonia. [2]

[1]: Bernard, Paul. "The Greek Kingdoms of Central Asia." History of civilizations of Central Asia 2 (1994): pp. 99-129.. pp. 110-113

[2]: (Girtzi-Bafas 2009, 136-144)


312 Ottoman Empire I present Confident Expert -
The elaborate water supply system of Constantinople was restorated and enlarged by the Ottomans, cf. EXTERNAL_INLINE_LINK: http://archnet.org/system/publications/contents/3217/original/DPC0748.pdf?1384773927 ; also Adrianople had such a system EXTERNAL_INLINE_LINK: http://archnet.org/system/publications/contents/3221/original/DPC0760.pdf?1384773938 [1]

[1]: Personal communication. Johannes Preiser-Kapeller. 2016. Institute for Medieval Research. Division of Byzantine Research. Austrian Academy of Sciences.


313 Ottoman Empire II present Confident Expert -
Aqueducts in Istanbul. [1] 111 drinking fountains built in Cairo during three centuries of Ottoman rule, 46 between 1626 and 1775 CE. Western area of Cairo two fountains built between 1517 and 1725 CE. [2] Water was brought to fountains or to the door of residents manually, via camel and water carriers (up to 10,000 daily), and the fountains were built by waqf foundations and individuals rather than a municipal authority. [3]

[1]: (Imber 2002, 172) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.

[2]: (Raymond 2000, 220, 223)

[3]: (Raymond 2000, 245-250)


314 Ottoman Empire III present Confident Expert -
Aqueducts in Istanbul. [1] 111 drinking fountains built in Cairo during three centuries of Ottoman rule, 46 between 1626 and 1775 CE. Western area of Cairo two fountains built between 1517 and 1725 CE. [2] Water was brought to fountains or to the door of residents manually, via camel and water carriers (up to 10,000 daily), and the fountains were built by waqf foundations and individuals rather than a municipal authority. [3]

[1]: (Imber 2002, 172) Imber, Colin. 2002. The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650. The Structure of Power. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.

[2]: (Raymond 2000, 220, 223)

[3]: (Raymond 2000, 245-250)


315 Haudenosaunee Confederacy - Early absent Confident Expert -
Iroquois communities relied on natural rivers and springs for their water supply: ’Water was naturally the most common beverage. The sites of villages everywhere are found to be in proximity to some sort of water supply. Sometimes this was in the form of springs, or spring creeks, rivers, or even pondholes or ditches, sources which are still more or less in favour in many localities.’ [1] ’A boundary line would seem at first to be a difficult problem in Indian geography. But a peculiar custom of our predecessors has divested this subject of much of its embarrassment, and enabled us to ascertain with considerable certainty the territorial limits of the nations of the League. The Iroquois rejected all natural boundaries, and substituted longitudinal lines. This appears to have resulted from the custom of establishing themselves upon both banks of the streams upon which they resided. Having no knowledge of the use of wells, they were accustomed to fix their habitations upon the banks of creeks, and easily forded rivers, or in the vicinity of copious springs. Inland lakes were never divided by a boundary line; but the line itself was deflected, that the entire circuit of each lake might be possessed by a single nation. The natural limits which rivers and lakes might furnish having thus been disregarded, and straight lines substituted, the inquiry is freed from some of its difficulties, and greater certainty is given to their boundaries, when certain points upon them are decisively ascertained.’ [2]

[1]: Waugh, Frederick W. 1916. “Iroquois Foods And Food Preparation”, 144

[2]: Morgan, Lewis Henry, and Herbert M. Lloyd 1901. “League Of The Ho-De’-No-Sau-Nee Or Iroquois. Vol. I”, 38


316 Haudenosaunee Confederacy - Late absent Confident Expert -
Iroquois communities relied on natural rivers and springs for their water supply: ’Water was naturally the most common beverage. The sites of villages everywhere are found to be in proximity to some sort of water supply. Sometimes this was in the form of springs, or spring creeks, rivers, or even pondholes or ditches, sources which are still more or less in favour in many localities.’ [1] ’A boundary line would seem at first to be a difficult problem in Indian geography. But a peculiar custom of our predecessors has divested this subject of much of its embarrassment, and enabled us to ascertain with considerable certainty the territorial limits of the nations of the League. The Iroquois rejected all natural boundaries, and substituted longitudinal lines. This appears to have resulted from the custom of establishing themselves upon both banks of the streams upon which they resided. Having no knowledge of the use of wells, they were accustomed to fix their habitations upon the banks of creeks, and easily forded rivers, or in the vicinity of copious springs. Inland lakes were never divided by a boundary line; but the line itself was deflected, that the entire circuit of each lake might be possessed by a single nation. The natural limits which rivers and lakes might furnish having thus been disregarded, and straight lines substituted, the inquiry is freed from some of its difficulties, and greater certainty is given to their boundaries, when certain points upon them are decisively ascertained.’ [2]

[1]: Waugh, Frederick W. 1916. “Iroquois Foods And Food Preparation”, 144

[2]: Morgan, Lewis Henry, and Herbert M. Lloyd 1901. “League Of The Ho-De’-No-Sau-Nee Or Iroquois. Vol. I”, 38


317 Samanid Empire present Confident Expert -
Residents of Central Asian cities "including slaves, had good access to running water" [1] "Within the cities the maze of underground pipes of baked clay that served public baths and private homes became yet more complex, for they included valves, catch basins, and access points for cleaning, as well as exceedingly complex changes of gradients. ... intricate underground pipe systems that provided urban dwellings with potable water." [1]

[1]: (Starr 2013) Starr, S. Frederick. 2013. Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia’s Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane. Princeton University Press. Princeton.


318 Sogdiana - City-States Period absent Inferred Expert -
Not on the travel routes themselves: "A more direct route was conceivable, in a straight line from Samarkand to Tashkent: beginning in the 9th century it was provided with a line of cisterns which made possible a gain of two days’ travel.139 But this occurred during the Islamic period, and archaeology shows that the soils were virgin beneath these improvements.140 The Sogdians had therefore not carried out necessary improvements over an extremely busy section of their network. A second example supports the first: between Merv and Bukhara, over the route by which all traffic with Iran necessarily flowed, and which was one of the major highways of the Muslim world under the Abbasids, the numerous improvements date in general from the 9th century at the earliest. Only a few wells— vital because no alternative route was possible—existed before that time.141" [1]

[1]: (De la Vaissière 2005, 193-194)


319 Dutch Empire absent Confident -
Though a drinking water supply system existed in Amsterdam, it did not consist of a permanent structure. "In 1651 ten Amsterdam beer brewers united to secure a constant supply of brewing water. The first joint activity was the purchase of an icebreaker that could secure the passage of different water vessels during winter. These water ships didn’t take water only upstream of the Amstel, but also from the river Gein near Abcoude, a distance of 15 km southeast of the city. Because of quality, soon water was taken from the Vecht near Nigtevecht, about 20 km from the city. [...] Barge canals were constructed to connect the city with both rivers. [...] Every morning multiple water vessels departed from the city to the different water inlet sites and returned to the city by night. The brewers sold the water from the water vessels to the inhabitants of Amsterdam and to the sea captains of the port of Amsterdam. In 1695 a new icebreaker was purchased, this time financed by the brewers guild, which included all Amsterdam brewers. [...] The price of water increased to 15 (guilder) cents per bucket, because of the costly operation of the icebreaker. For poor people this price was too high. These people had to melt ice from the canals, which resulted in many sick people. In hard winters it was no longer possible to cover the costs of the operation because of the low sales and the high operation costs. Therefore, the brewers decided to cease water transport during periods requiring the use of the icebreaker. However, the city council signed a municipal order in 1745 and again in 1769 that required the water supply to continue during winter. [...] To break through the deadlock about the use of the icebreaker, the municipality of Amsterdam took over the icebreaker and a number of water vessels in 1786. They formed the Versch-Water Societeit to oversee the water supply from the Vecht. This society granted concessions to water merchants for transportation and trading within the city. The brewers were only allowed to transport water for their own consumption. They had to pay a sum per water vessel to cover the costs of the icebreaker." [1] NB Because Amsterdam was the de facto capital of this polity, we are inferring that if it did not feature a structural drinking water supply system, neither did other centres.

[1]: (Van Dijk, Verberk, and De Moel 2006: 50-52) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/RKMJB7RS/collection.


320 Imamate of Futa Toro present Confident -
“This double harvest made Futa Toro a food-exporting region and also drew migrant farmers from the surrounding areas […] Fulbe herders practices seasonal migration, staying near permeant sources of water in the dry season, then moving out with the rains and finally returning when water holes and pastures dried up.” [1]

[1]: (Clark, 2005) Clark, Andrew F. 2005. ‘Futa Toro’ In Encyclopedia of African History Volume 1: A-G. Edited by Kevin Shillington. London: Taylor and Francis. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/GDPPE8E5/collection


321 Anurādhapura I present Confident -
“The outer reaches of the city are defined by the presence of three artificial lakes, the Basawak Kulam, the Tessa Wewa and the Nuwara Wewa covering areas of 91, 160 and 1288ha respectively. With dates ranging from the fourth century BC for the Basavak Kulam in the first century AD for the Nuwara Wewa, they were augmented in the fifth century AD with feeder channels and canals (Brohier 1934). This hydraulic system allowed excess wet season water to be stored for drinking and irrigation agriculture as well as enabling the diverting of water from other river catchments to large storage tanks, such as the Nachchaduwa, before being released into Anuradhapura’s system.” [1]

[1]: (Coningham, Robin et al. 2007, 703). Coningham, Robin et al. 2007. “The State of Theocracy: Defining an Early Medieval Hinterland in Sri Lanka.” Antiquity. Vol 81:313. Pp 699-719. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/M4HWIC84/collection


322 Anurādhapura II present Confident -
“The outer reaches of the city are defined by the presence of three artificial lakes, the Basawak Kulam, the Tessa Wewa and the Nuwara Wewa covering areas of 91, 160 and 1288ha respectively. With dates ranging from the fourth century BC for the Basavak Kulam in the first century AD for the Nuwara Wewa, they were augmented in the fifth century AD with feeder channels and canals (Brohier 1934). This hydraulic system allowed excess wet season water to be stored for drinking and irrigation agriculture as well as enabling the diverting of water from other river catchments to large storage tanks, such as the Nachchaduwa, before being released into Anuradhapura’s system.” [1] “During the reign of Mahāsena (227-301 AD), the Älahära canal became the main source of water supply for the Minneriya tanks which he built, and which was by far the largest tank up to that time. Mahāsena is credited with the construction of sixteen tanks and canals, four of which are in the Anurādhapura area, and one in the Puttalam district. Three notable trends in the development of irrigation facilities during his reign were: a resolute endeavour to harness the waters of the Mahaväli and the Ambangaṅga, the most important project being the massive Minneriya tank; the improvement of facilities for water conservation in the north-western part of the island; and the attempt to develop the south-western part of the dry zone on the periphery of the wet zone. Together they accelerated agricultural development in the vicinity of Anurādhapura, and opened up new areas for cultivation in the east and southwest. All the major irrigation projects initiated by him were achieved by a prodigious investment of labour resources on an unprecedented scale, and they reflect, too, a notable advance in irrigation technology in the island.” [2]

[1]: (Coningham, Robin et al. 2007, 703). Coningham, Robin et al. 2007. “The State of Theocracy: Defining an Early Medieval Hinterland in Sri Lanka.” Antiquity. Vol 81:313. Pp 699-719. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/M4HWIC84/collection

[2]: (De Silva, 1981, 29). De Silva, K.M. 1981. A History of Sri Lanka. London: C. Hurst & Company, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/4R6DQVHZ/collection


323 Adal Sultanate present Confident -
In al-Idrīsī’s twelfth-century writings on Zeila he mentioned “The people drink water [drawn] from wells.” [1]

[1]: (Tamrat 2008, 139) Tamrat, Taddesse. 2008. ‘Ethiopia, the Red Sea and the Horn’ In the Cambridge History of Africa: c. 1050 – c.1600 vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp 98-182. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/search/Tamrat/titleCreatorYear/items/A68FCWWI/item-list


324 Ajuran Sultanate present Confident -
“Ajuuraan was also reputed for its water or hydraulic engineering. The empire’s engineers put to good use the opportunities presented by the Juba and Shebelle rivers to construct limestone wells and cisterns.” [1]

[1]: (Njoku 2013, 40) Njoku, Raphael C. 2013. The History of Somalia. Santa Barbara: Greenwood Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/U9FHBPZF/library


325 Habr Yunis present Confident -
Wells. The population numbers are an approximation and do not represent a definitive number. “The dimensions of Zeila Burton compares to Suez, sufficient to hold a few thousand inhabitants, and provided with six mosques, a dozen large white-washed stone houses, and two hundred or more thatched mud – and-wattle huts. The ancient wall of coral rubble and mud defending the town was no longer fortified with guns, and in many places had become dilapidated. Drinking water had to be fetched from wells four miles from the town. Yet trade was thriving: to the north caravans plied the Danakil country, while to the west the lands of the ‘Ise and Gadabursi clans were traversed as far as Harar, and beyond Harar to the Gurage country in Abyssinia. The main exports were slaves, ivory hides, horns, ghee, and guns. On the coast itself Arab divers were active collecting sponge cones and provisions were cheap.” [1]

[1]: (Lewis 2002, 34) Lewis, Ioan M. 2002. A Modern History of the Somali: Nation and State in the Horn of Africa. Athens: Ohio University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/KHB7VSJK/collection


326 Sultanate of Geledi present Confident -
“A village like this, standing far from the river, relies for its water supply on its war. This is an artificial pool, or reservoir, beside it.” [1]

[1]: (Luling 1971, 67) Luling, Virginia. 1971. The Social Structure of Southern Somali Tribes. (Thesis). University of London (University College London). Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/TWITJWK4/items/5BTAQ3DM/collection


327 Harla Kingdom present Confident -
Wells. “Harla comprises several elements, including a central settlement area, workshops at least three early mosques, wells, lengths of fortification walls and cemeteries to the north, east and west.” [1]

[1]: (Insoll et al. 2021, 488) Insoll, Timothy et al. 2021. ‘Material Cosmopolitanism: the entrepot of Harlaa as an Islamic gateway to eastern Ethiopia’. Antiquity. Vol 95: 380. Pp 487-507. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/GGUW3WRZ/collection


328 Ilú-ọba Ọ̀yọ́ present Confident -
“The survey achieved three goals: (1) It led to the identification of the residential area, comprising mostly compound-courtyard structures (impluvium architecture), granary stone structures, a vast palace complex, a dug-out water reservoir, refuse mounds, as well as grinding stones and grinding hollows on rock outcrops. (2) It provided the spatial and density distribution of artifacts, mostly pottery. (3) It made purposive problem-oriented selective excavations possible because the provenance of many of the features is known.” [1]

[1]: Gosselain, O. P., & MacEachern, S. (2017). Field Manual for African Archaeology (A. Livingstone-Smith & E. Cornelissen, Eds.): 70. Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/JRMZECR5/collection


329 Us Reconstruction-Progressive present Confident -
Present across the US since preceding period. Wells, running water systems.
330 Denyanke Kingdom present Confident -
“This double harvest made Futa Toro a food-exporting region and also drew migrant farmers from the surrounding areas […] Fulbe herders practices seasonal migration, staying near permeant sources of water in the dry season, then moving out with the rains and finally returning when water holes and pastures dried up.” [1]

[1]: (Clark, 2005) Clark, Andrew F. 2005. ‘Futa Toro’ In Encyclopedia of African History Volume 1: A-G. Edited by Kevin Shillington. London: Taylor and Francis. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/GDPPE8E5/collection


331 Pandya Dynasty present Confident -
“The royal grants provided or the building of tanks and wells in the villages.” [1]

[1]: (Kamlesh 2010, 600) Kamlesh, Kapur. 2010. ‘Pandya Dynasty’ In Portraits of a Nation: History of Ancient India. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/3TS5DCT6/collection


332 Late Pallava Empire present Confident -
“The Pallavan tanks and wells, several of which function even today, were the lifeline of the Pallavan villages. The village population was almost wholly dependent of them for irrigation. The rainwater, which increased the stored volume of water in these devices, made tanks and wells crucial when it came to irrigating agricultural fields during the long dry spells experienced by these regions.” [1]

[1]: (Saghar 2015, 5) Saghar, Amol. 2015. ‘Irrigation Under the Pallavas’ Social Scientist. Vol. 43:5/6. Pp 3-10. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/ZHNKD5GI/collection


333 Kingdom of Jimma present Inferred -
The following quote suggest that drinking water supply systems for humans was also available. “Rainfall is generally sufficient for farming needs and the only local management of water resources involves very minor work in draining streams or daming them to make pools from which cattle can drink.” [1]

[1]: (Lewis 2001, 52-53) Lewis, Herbert S. 2001. Jimma Abba Jifar, an Oromo Monarchy: Ethiopia, 1830-1932. Lawrenceville, New Jersey: The Red Sea Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/items/NRZVWSCD/collection


334 Ifat Sultanate present Inferred -
E.g large reservoir for water. “The ruins of Warq Amba, in Argobba, which undoubtedly witnessed the bitter struggles of Sayfa’Ar’ad and the princes we have just named against the Muslims of the southwest, lie a good day’s walk from Tschanno, to the right of the Awadi River; the debris of ancient buildings, with a necropolis, a mosque, a large reservoir for water, stretching for a length of almost two kilometres. Mr. Traversi, who discovered this ancient unknown dead city, saw there in the cemetery, the inscription of a sultan Ali, contemporary of Sayfa’Ar’ad; near the town in an antique vase shape, he found a small treasure of silver coins, but minted by Egyptian Sultans of the 13th and 14th centuries.” [1]

[1]: (Fauvelle et al. 2017, 239-295) Fauvelle, François-Xavier et al. 2007. “The Sultanate of Awfāt, its Capital and the Necropolis of the Walasma”, Annales Islamologiques. Vol. 51. Pp 239-295. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/HJCMAMX7/library


335 Majeerteen Sultanate present Inferred -
The quote below suggests that well sites were likely present. “However, there periodically emerged throughout Somali history regional sultanates whose leaders claimed authority over many clans and over large tracts of territory. Examples include the medieval Sultanates of Adal, Ifat and Harar on the eastern fringes of the Ethiopian highlands; the Ajuraan Sultanate in the sixteenth century; The Majeerteen Sultanate in the extreme northeast which arose in the eighteenth century; and the nineteenth-century Sultanates of Hobya and Geledi. While it is impossible to determine with any precision the boundaries of these pastoral polities, it is apparent that they encompassed well sites, trade routes, and market towns shared by many different clans.” [1]

[1]: (Cassanelli 1982, 70-71) Cassanelli, Lee. V. 1982. The Shaping of Somali Society: Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People, 1600-1900. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/TKPH7Z89/library


336 Carnatic Sultanate present Inferred -
The following quote suggests that drinking water supply systems were likely present. “In the riverine tracts of the poligar areas we find the mirasi system of tenure, where power depended on membership of the ruling elite or the influential communities, ritual domination, and on the control of two key resources, water and labour.” [1]

[1]: (Bugge, 2020) Bugge, Henriette. 2020. Mission and Tamil Society: Social and Religious Change in South India (1840-1900). London: Routledge Curzon. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/9SKWNUF4/collection


337 Nayaks of Madurai present Inferred -
The following quote suggests that drinking water supply systems were likely present during this period due to the presence of various water tanks around the temple complex of Pudu Mandapa. “Water may have been supplied by either the small octagonal tank that lies between the Pudu Mandapa and the Raya Gopura that is called the Vasanta Tank on Francis’ 1906 plan of the temple, or from the Elukakalkkulam (‘Seven Seas Tank’). This festival tank (teppakkulam) was built according to an inscription in c. 1516/7 as the gift of the Vijayanagara ruler Krishnadevaraya and was located about one hundred metres east of the Raya Gopura through it is now built over.” [1]

[1]: (Branfoot 2001, 198) Branfoot, Crispin. 2001. ‘Tirumala Nayaka’s ‘New Hall’ and the European Study of the South Indian Temple. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. Vol 11:2. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/FE5VZ76M/collection


338 Middle and Late Nok absent Inferred -
"There are [...] no signs of communal construction activities, and no preserved facilities to store agricultural surplus. [...] It has to be considered that the preservation of features in Nok sites is generally poor and that the amount of data is not too large and regionally restricted to a rather small key study area." [1]

[1]: (Breunig and Ruppe 2016: 253) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/ES4TRU7R.


339 Kingdom of Bohemia - Luxembourgian and Jagiellonian Dynasty present Inferred -
“With the development of medieval river navigation and timber rafting, mainly on the Vltava and Elbe, fairly intense water-engineering activity began in the Czech Lands (weirs were built, river-beds were adjusted). The first artificial reservoirs – ponds – were established by the damming of streams and smaller rivers, probably from as early as the 13th century.” [1]

[1]: (Pánek and Oldřich 2009: 41) Pánek, Jaroslav and Oldřich, Tůma. 2009. A History of the Czech Lands. University of Chicago Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/4NAX9KBJ


340 West Burkina Faso Yellow I absent Inferred -
The following suggests that the only identified buildings were houses, and that houses fulfilled multiple purposes ("economically generalized”). ”The community [of Kirikongo] was founded by a single house (Mound 4) c. ad 100 (Yellow I), as part of a regional expansion of farming peoples in small homesteads in western Burkina Faso. A true village emerged with the establishment of a second house (Mound 1) c. ad 450, and by the end of the first millennium ad the community had expanded to six houses. At first, these were economically generalized houses (potting, iron metallurgy, farming and herding) settled distantly apart with direct access to farming land that appear to have exercised some autonomy." [1]

[1]: (Dueppen 2015: 21-22)


341 Middle and Late Nok absent Inferred -
"There are [...] no signs of communal construction activities, and no preserved facilities to store agricultural surplus. [...] It has to be considered that the preservation of features in Nok sites is generally poor and that the amount of data is not too large and regionally restricted to a rather small key study area." [1]

[1]: (Breunig and Ruppe 2016: 253) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/GWWIKDDM/ES4TRU7R.


342 West Burkina Faso Red II and III absent Inferred -
"The first nondomestic structures identified at Kirikongo are found from Red II and Red III on the peak of Mound 4. This multistory complex has formal similarities to a Bwa ancestor house, which today when associated with the founding house is a sacrificial shrine to the village ancestors, the meeting place for the village council, and maintained by the village headman. Given the presence of these ritual structures, cross-cutting communal activities, and a communally focused built environment, it is possible that an institution similar to the village Do was in existence." [1]

[1]: (Dueppen 2012: 31)


343 West Burkina Faso Red IV absent Inferred -
Inferred from the following, which pertains to the immediately preceding period. "The first nondomestic structures identified at Kirikongo are found from Red II and Red III on the peak of Mound 4. This multistory complex has formal similarities to a Bwa ancestor house, which today when associated with the founding house is a sacrificial shrine to the village ancestors, the meeting place for the village council, and maintained by the village headman. Given the presence of these ritual structures, cross-cutting communal activities, and a communally focused built environment, it is possible that an institution similar to the village Do was in existence." [1]

[1]: (Dueppen 2012: 31)


344 West Burkina Faso Red I absent Inferred -
"The first nondomestic structures identified at Kirikongo are found from Red II and Red III on the peak of Mound 4. This multistory complex has formal similarities to a Bwa ancestor house, which today when associated with the founding house is a sacrificial shrine to the village ancestors, the meeting place for the village council, and maintained by the village headman. Given the presence of these ritual structures, cross-cutting communal activities, and a communally focused built environment, it is possible that an institution similar to the village Do was in existence." [1]

[1]: (Dueppen 2012: 31)


345 Kanem unknown Suspected -
The near-absence of archaeologically identified settlements makes it particularly challenging to infer most building types. "While the historical sources provide a vague picture of the events of the first 500 years of the Kanem-Borno empire, archaeologically almost nothing is known. [...] Summing up, very little is known about the capitals or towns of the early Kanem- Borno empire. The locations of the earliest sites have been obscured under the southwardly protruding sands of the Sahara, and none of the later locations can be identified with certainty." [1]

[1]: (Gronenborn 2002: 104-110)


346 Oyo unknown Suspected -
"Contexts that could shed light on the dynamics of social structure and hierarchies in the metropolis, such as the royal burial site of Oyo monarchs and the residences of the elite population, have not been investigated. The mapping of the palace structures has not been followed by systematic excavations (Soper, 1992); and questions of the economy, military system, and ideology of the empire have not been addressed archaeologically, although their general patterns are known from historical studies (e.g, Johnson, 1921; Law, 1977)." [1] Regarding this period, however, one of the historical studies mentioned in this quote also notes: "Of the earliestperiod of Oyo history, before the sixteenth century, very little is known." [2] Law does not then go on to provide specific information directly relevant to this variable.

[1]: (Ogundiran 2005: 151-152)

[2]: (Law 1977: 33)


347 Early United Mexican States present Confident -
“Examples proliferate, particularly during the late seventeenth- and late eighteenth-century silver bonanzas that produced the wealth of communities such as Santiago de Querétaro, Zacatecas and Guanajuato, or individuals such as Juan Antonio de Urrutia y Arana, marqués de la Villa del Villar del Águila; Pedro Romero de Terreros, conde de Santa María de Regla; Antonio de Obregón y Alcocer, conde de la Valenciana; and José de Borda (Couturier 2003; Torales Pacheco 1985; Yuste López 1987). Their munificence built aqueducts, churches, palaces, industrial establishments, charitable institutions, and even ships for the Spanish navy.” [1] “Nevertheless small triumphs occurred, such as the formation of the Superior Sanitation Council in 1841. It was not until 1891 that a comprehensive sanitary code was enacted and a sewage system in Mexico City soon followed. By the end of the century, not only had sanitation become an integral part of the government’s conception of the state, but it had also contributed to how elites viewed the poor and their environment.” [2]

[1]: (Bunker and Macias-Gonzalez 2011: 60) Bunker, Steven B. and Macías-González, Víctor M. 2011. “Consumption and Material Culture from Pre-Contact through the Porfiriato,” in A Companion to Mexican History and Culture, ed. William H. Beezley. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. pp54–82. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SDIQ5VE7

[2]: (Garza 2011: 3180 Garza, James A. 2011. “Conquering the Environment and Surviving Natural Disasters,” in A Companion to Mexican History and Culture, ed. William H. Beezley. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. 316–27. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/TF5GMWVK


348 Plantagenet England present Confident -
Water supplies were present in all settlements. Though they were not well maintained and were often polluted due to the lack of hygiene. [1]

[1]: (Prestwich 2005: 22) Prestwich, Michael. 2005. Plantagenet England 1225-1360. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XTBKFDCI


349 Lombard Kingdom present Confident -
Existing Roman aqueducts, which were later extended by the Lombards, provided cities with water. [1]

[1]: Christie 1998: 150, 158. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/975BEGKF


350 Late Tiwanaku present Confident -
Wells. “Associated with and in part built into the Putuni platform, to the west, were at least two large residential structures organized around a flagstone plaza (Couture and Sampeck 2003). The East Palace, set into a recessed section of the platform, was a rectangular structure set on ashlar foundations, consisting of at least five smaller rooms and an associated private patio (Figure 7.3). At twenty-two meters by six meters, or some 132 square meters, it was a large edifice, and it was associated with numerous residential features, including a hearth, four refuse pits, and three private wells.” [1] “Shedding some light on the significance of these new patterns is Akapana East 1. Our exposure of Tiwanaku V occupations in this area covered 624 square meters, and revealed sections of two compounds separated by a large compound wall (Figure 7.4B)… Most structures bordered an extensive outdoor area encompassing a remarkable variety of activities. Fresh water was obtained from a deep well outside of structure 2, while the ash and detritus of everyday life were deposited in several nearby pits.” [2]

[1]: (Janusek 2004: 209) Janusek, John Wayne. 2004. Identity and Power in the Ancient Andes: Tiwanaku Cities Through Time. New York: Routledge. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SDDCMA8P

[2]: (Janusek 2004: 215-216) Janusek, John Wayne. 2004. Identity and Power in the Ancient Andes: Tiwanaku Cities Through Time. New York: Routledge. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SDDCMA8P


351 Antebellum US present Confident -
Wells.
352 Late Classic Tikal present Confident -
“Tikal is located in the Petén district, Guatemala, on top of an escarpment (250 m asl) surrounded by swampy areas to the west and east, earthworks to the north and south ( Jones et al. 1981), and large tracts of fertile land (Fedick and Ford 1990).1 It is one of the best-known and largest Maya centers (Figure 6.1). Since it is not near lakes or rivers, its inhabitants relied on several complex reservoir systems to offset seasonal water shortages (Scarborough and Gallopin 1991), which are found next to temples and royal palaces.” [1] “The shortage of drinking water may have been exacerbated because stored water goes foul quickly in the tropics. The large centers of the central southern lowlands, such as Tikal and Calakmul, coped with this problem by creating substantial systems of water reservoirs although it must be pointed out that Tikal’s rural or outlying population maintained many agnadas that were probably not under centralized control…During the Classic period, the focus of water storage shifted to "convex microwatersheds," with reservoirs built around the central precincts of centers that usually occupied hill tops…” [2]

[1]: (Lucero 2006: 162) Lucero, Lisa J. 2006. Water and Ritual: The Rise and Fall of Classic Maya Rulers. Austin: University of Texas Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/NSX2SNWU

[2]: (Houston and Inomata 2009: 245) Houston, Stephen D. and Inomata, Takeshi. 2009. The Classic Maya, Cambridge World Archaeology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/ZXA5U53G


353 Tudor and Early Stuart England present Confident -
“Guilds chiefly undertook, in the name of the Trinity, the Virgin Mary, or a saint, to provide members with solemn funerals and requiem masses for their souls, but they also repaired bridges and highways, provided fresh water facilities and conduits in towns such as Bristol, Norwich, and Ashburton, offered members business contacts or proto-banking facilities, paid midwives, looked after town clocks, and played a prominent part in civic ceremonial and the rituals of the communal year. At Henry VII’s formal entry into Bristol in 1487, for example, an elephant with a clockwork Resurrection scene on its back was provided.” [1] “By 1600 basement services were frequently found in town houses built on restricted sites. Lastly, provision of water supplies and improved sanitary arrangements reflected the Renaissance concern with private and public health. In the case of town houses, owners would go to considerable lengths to solve drainage problems, often paying a cash composition to the civic authorities, but sometimes performing some service for the town at Court or at Westminster in return for unlimited water or drainage.” [2] Major settlements had wells, except for the smallest hamlets which, at the beginning of the period, still relied on a local stream to collect their water. [3]

[1]: (Guy 1988: 22) Guy, John. 1988. Tudor England. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/IIFAUUNA

[2]: (Guy 1988: 433-434) Guy, John. 1988. Tudor England. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/IIFAUUNA

[3]: ( Bucholz et al 2013: 178) Bucholz, Robert, Newton Key, and R.O. Bucholz. 2013. Early Modern England 1485-1714: A Narrative History. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uvic/detail.action?docID=1166775. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XQGJH96U


354 Khwarezmid Empire present Confident -
In Samarqand (and likely other cities and towns) there were water pipelines. [1]

[1]: Buniyatov 2015: 86. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SAEVEJFH


355 Alaouite Dynasty I present Confident -
“As regards his work for the community, he [Mawlây Rashïd] took a great interest in the water problem, especially in the desert areas: thus he had many wells dug in the deserts of eastern Morocco, particularly in the Dar’a, which was on the route taken by caravans of traders and pilgrim caravans on their way to Mecca.” [1] At the palace at Meknes: “In the centre ran running water. Each animal had its stall and a shelter for its equipment. Opposite was a storehouse, the heri which supported a supplementary palace with twenty pavilions. Between the palace and the stables was the granary, forty feet high and big enough, it was said, to contain the whole harvest of Morocco. At the side was a pond for irrigation purposes and also subterranean reserves of water in case of a siege.” [2]

[1]: (Ogot 1992: 219) Ogot, B. A. 1992. ed., General History of Africa: Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century., vol. V, VII vols. Oxford: Heinemann Educational Books Ltd. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/24QPFDVP

[2]: (Bosworth 2007: 399) Bosworth, Clifford Edmund. 2007. ed., Historic Cities of the Islamic World. Leiden; Boston: Brill. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/HGHDXVAC


356 Golden Horde present Confident -
Cities in the Golden Horde territories had running water supplied by aqueducts, water pipes and wells. [1] . [2]

[1]: Halperin 1987: 26. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/VCPWVNM.

[2]: Khakimov and Favereau 2017: 652-653. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/QL8H3FN8


357 Saffarid Caliphate present Confident -
Canals flowed into cities, such as at Nishapur, where they supplied water to the city. [1]

[1]: Bosworth 2007: 423. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/HGHDXVAC


358 British Empire I present Confident -
Settlements had wells.
359 Napoleonic France present Confident -
-
360 Kingdom of the Huns absent Inferred -
The Hunnites were nomadic pastoralists and so would not have set up permanent water supply systems.
361 Chaco Canyon - Late Bonito phase present Inferred -
“Because the Chacoans were skilled builders, Gordon Vivian was sure that they must have had some way of collecting and distributing this water. He soon found evidence of an efficient irrigation system. Later, Gwinn expanded on his father’s work. The Chacoan irrigation system depended on dams and canals. After a rainstorm a dam at the mouth of each side canyon collected the water that fell from the cliff top. The water was then channeled into a stone-lined canal, which emptied into a head gate with narrow openings that could be blocked or left open to control the water’s flow into ditches. The ditches led to large plots of many individual gardens. In the summer of 1967, Gwinn Vivian excavated a dam that had been built across one of the main side canyons. It was a massive structure more than 120 feet long and 7 feet high. The water emptied into a canal through a gate near the middle of the dam. The long, curving, masonry-lined canal directed the water to 24 acres of bordered gardens that were laid out in neat rectangles. Gwinn Vivian calculated that a summer thunderstorm that produced 1 1/4 inches of rain in an hour would have provided the Penasco Blanco gardens with 540,000 gallons of water—half a gallon per square foot. The Chacoan genius for building and engineering allowed a large number of people to live in that otherwise dry and rugged canyon.” [1]

[1]: (Gwinn and Anderson 2002: 30) Gwinn Vivian, R. and Anderson, Margaret. 2002. Chaco Canyon, Digging for the Past. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/996XW2NW


362 Hohokam Culture present Inferred -
Though not explicitly mentioned in the sources consulted, it is very likely that the Sonoran Desert people had drinking water systems given their sophisticated canal and irrigation technology.
363 Holy Roman Empire - Ottonian-Salian Dynasty unknown Suspected -
Very likely but not mentioned in the sources.
364 Chandra Dynasty present Confident -
-
365 Austria - Habsburg Dynasty II present Confident -
-
366 Yemen - Qasimid Dynasty absent Confident Expert -
Traditionally, water was gathered from freshwater springs: ’Traditionally, springs were used for drinking water supply as well asfor agricultural purposes.’ [1]

[1]: Almas, Ahmed A. M. and Scholz, Miklas 2006. "Agriculture and Water Resources Crisis in Yemen: Need for Sustainable Agriculture", 59


367 British East India Company present Confident -
-
368 Nawabs of Bengal present Confident -
-
369 Qin Empire present Inferred -
-