From Hydrology to Hydroarchaeology in the Ancient Mediterranean

An Interdisciplinary Approach

Edited by Giovanni Polizzi Edited by Vincent Ollivier Edited by Sophie Bouffier

Book cover: From Hydrology to Hydroarchaeology in the Ancient Mediterranean

Extent: 166 pages

Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing

Subjects: Earth & Life Sciences , Mediterranean Archaeology

Language: English

Paperback (Published)

(October 2022)

ISBN: 9781803273747

8.07 x 11.42 inches

Price: $48.00

In stock

This volume is devoted to the study of water management in ancient cities. It compares the approaches and methods adopted by researchers from different disciplinary sectors to identify the water conditions of past societies and to highlight the measures they have taken to adapt to their water resources.


From Hydrology to Hydroarchaeology in the Ancient Mediterranean: An interdisciplinary approach is devoted to the study of water management in ancient cities. It compares the approaches and methods adopted by researchers from different disciplinary sectors to identify the water conditions of past societies and to highlight the measures they have taken to adapt to their water resources. Deriving from an interdisciplinary meeting held in Aix-en-Provence (Mediterranean House of Human Sciences) in 2019, it brings together seven articles that present the innovative results of collaborations between archaeologists and environmental scientists, geologists, geomorphologists, and climatologists in particular. After an introduction that situates the discussions conducted in Aix-en-Provence within the framework of the Watertraces project, funded by the A*Midex foundation (Aix-Marseille University), most of the articles focus on the Sicilian situation. An initial synthesis covers all aspects of the question, followed by four case studies ranging from the 4th century BC to the 1st century AD. Case studies on Agrigento, Termini Imerese/Thermai Himerenses, Alesa/Halaesa, Solunte and Tyndaris are presented. The focus then moves to southern Italy (the Terme di Baia), and to Aegean Greece (the sanctuary at Delphi).

Introduction - Sophie Bouffier and Vincent Ollivier The Impact of Climate, Resource Availability, Natural Disturbances and Human Subsistence Strategies on Sicilian Landscape Dynamics During the Holocene - Salvatore Pasta, Giuseppe D'Amore, Cipriano Di Maggio, Gaetano Di Pasquale, Vincenza Forgia, Alessandro Incarbona, Giuliana Madonia, Cesar Morales-Molino, Silvio Giuseppe Rotolo, Luca Sineo, Claudia Speciale, Attilio Sulli, Willy Tinner and Matteo Vacchi Analyse historique des variations du debit provoque par les seismes pendant les siecles XVe-XXe: le cas de Termini Imerese (Sicile centro-septentrionale) - Patrizia Bova, Antonio Contino and Giuseppe Esposito Le risorse idriche nel territorio di Alesa - Aurelio Burgio Aquae caldae. Note sparse sul termalismo e lo sfruttamento delle acque sulfuree nel territorio a est di Agrigento tra archeologia e paletnologia - Luca Zambito Archaeology and Hydrogeology in Sicily: Solunt and Tindari - Giovanni Polizzi, Vincent Ollivier, Olivier Bellier, Edwige Pons-Branchu and Michel Fontugne Baia (Bacoli-NA): l'acqua e il suo utilizzo nel complesso delle Terme romane - Daniele De Simone Natural Risks and Water Management in Delphi - Amelie Perrier, Isabelle Moretti and Luigi Piccardi, Introduction – Sophie Bouffier and Vincent Ollivier The Impact of Climate, Resource Availability, Natural Disturbances and Human Subsistence Strategies on Sicilian Landscape Dynamics During the Holocene – Salvatore Pasta, Giuseppe D’Amore, Cipriano Di Maggio, Gaetano Di Pasquale, Vincenza Forgia, Alessandro Incarbona, Giuliana Madonia, César Morales-Molino, Silvio Giuseppe Rotolo, Luca Sineo, Claudia Speciale, Attilio Sulli, Willy Tinner and Matteo Vacchi Analyse historique des variations du débit provoqué par les séismes pendant les siècles XVe–XXe: le cas de Termini Imerese (Sicile centro-septentrionale) – Patrizia Bova, Antonio Contino and Giuseppe Esposito Le risorse idriche nel territorio di Alesa – Aurelio Burgio Aquae caldae. Note sparse sul termalismo e lo sfruttamento delle acque sulfuree nel territorio a est di Agrigento tra archeologia e paletnologia – Luca Zambito Archaeology and Hydrogeology in Sicily: Solunt and Tindari – Giovanni Polizzi, Vincent Ollivier, Olivier Bellier, Edwige Pons-Branchu and Michel Fontugne Baia (Bacoli-NA): l’acqua e il suo utilizzo nel complesso delle Terme romane – Daniele De Simone Natural Risks and Water Management in Delphi – Amélie Perrier, Isabelle Moretti and Luigi Piccardi

  • Edited by Giovanni Polizzi
  • Edited by Vincent Ollivier
  • Edited by Sophie Bouffier

‘In conclusion, the volume is spot on in terms of topic, as material and cultural uses of water have co-shaped water systems, emphasizing the intrinsic proximity of natural and human worlds. Furthermore, in a world of human agents, the water infrastructure is more often the relevant materiality, with its object-like properties: it has sides (back, front, downside, inside) that typically block each other’s view. The archaeological record is full of these infrastructures, as the case studies in the book under review show. However, as much as landscapes are not static backgrounds, water infrastructure is closely related to dynamics. Infrastructure affects rhythm(s) of the substance water through space and time. This change of movement is not necessarily accepted by water and not necessarily useful for actors depending on the water, like fish and other water-dependent agents. As such, whereas the book by Polizzi and colleagues is timely to address the interplay of human(s), environment(s) and water(s), and provides very interesting data and details, it stays too far away from the existing scholarly work on how to conceptualize and study the dynamics of the interplays.’ - Maurits W. Ertsen (2024): BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LXXXI N° 5-6