The Horst of Sabzevar and regional water resources from the Bronze Age to the present day (Northeastern Iran)

Eric Fouache (1) , Henri-Paul Francfort (2) , Julio Bendezu-Sarmiento (2) , Vahdati Ali , Johanna Lhuillier (3)

1 ENeC - Espaces, Nature et Culture
2 ArScAn - Archéologies et Sciences de l'Antiquité
3 AOROC - Archéologie et Philologie d'Orient et d'Occident

Numerous researchers previously explored the question of the origin of qanat system on the Iranian plateau. In 2008, the Iranian-French excavation work carried out on the site of tepe Damghani raised the issue of the evolution of water resources in the area since the Bronze Age. A regional geomorphological survey showed that the Plio-Quaternary horst of Sabzevar played a significant role in providing water in the whole area from the Bronze Age up to now and that the qanat system had developed at the Achaemenid period. Indeed, at the back of the horst, a graben housing an important water table in its Quaternary alluvium has been found. Hydrological and geomorphological study shows that the overflowing of the water table provided a perennial flow. The archaeological data allow confirming the assumptions formulated starting from this study. The development of the qanât system then allowed irrigation of the whole hillfoot of the Sabzevar horst but in return provoked a lowering of the water table level, that massive pumping worsened; this level is currently to approximately 150 m of average depth.

Mots clés: Bronze Age

Mots clés: Iran; Age du Bronze

Domaines: Archéologie et Préhistoire; Etudes de l'environnement

Eric Fouache, Henri-Paul Francfort, Julio Bendezu-Sarmiento, Vahdati Ali, Johanna Lhuillier. The Horst of Sabzevar and regional water resources from the Bronze Age to the present day (Northeastern Iran). Geodinamica Acta, 2010, 23 (5-6), pp.287-294. ⟨10.3166/ga.23.287-294⟩. ⟨halshs-01111855⟩