Credited to Oman. The aflaj are often likened to the qanat of Iran and were long assumed to be of Iranian origin. Med-O-Med reports excavations in Bahla suggesting an origin in southern Arabia in the late 2nd millennium BCE. UNESCO dates the system to about 500 CE with irrigation in the area from 2500 BCE.
How it began
UNESCO states that the origins of the aflaj system in Oman may date back to 500 CE, while archaeological evidence suggests irrigation existed in this very arid area as early as 2500 BCE. A study published by Emerald says some aflaj are more than 2,500 years old. The system was built by farming communities of the Omani interior to bring water from underground sources and springs to their settlements.
Before it existed
Oman is extremely arid, so settled farming depended on finding and moving groundwater. UNESCO notes that irrigation in the area goes back to about 2500 BCE, long before the aflaj in their present form. Without such channels, settlement was limited to the places where water came to the surface by itself.
How it works
A falaj uses gravity alone. Water is tapped from underground sources or springs and led, often over many kilometers, through channels to fields and houses. Three types are described: daudi (or iddi) aflaj, which are long underground tunnels reaching the water table, ghaili aflaj, which take water from wadi flows, and aini aflaj, which draw on springs. Shares of water are measured in time, and a local agent, the wakil, manages the schedule.
What lasted
The aflaj fixed where Omani towns and date gardens stand and created a lasting system of shared ownership. UNESCO describes the fair management and sharing of water as underpinned by mutual dependence and communal values and guided by astronomical observations. Watchtowers and agricultural buildings were built along the channels to protect and use them.
Where it stands today
Five aflaj were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2006 as representative of some 3,000 systems still in use in Oman. UNESCO lists a falling water table as a threat. The government maintains the systems, and researchers present them as a model of sustainable water management that still supplies farms and households.
