Credited to United Arab Emirates. Underground channel irrigation of this kind, called qanat in Iran, has generally been considered a Persian invention. Walid Yasin Al Tikriti, archaeologist with the Al Ain antiquities department, argues that the Al Ain examples date to about 1000 BCE and that no Iranian example is dated that early. UNESCO words it more cautiously, calling Hili 'one of the oldest examples'. Iron Age aflaj are also known in neighboring Oman.
How it began
A falaj (plural aflaj) is a network of underground water channels that brings water from a distant source to farmland in arid country. In the Al Ain region of Abu Dhabi, in the present-day United Arab Emirates, archaeologist Walid Yasin Al Tikriti excavated aflaj at Hili, Bidaa Bint Saud and other sites and dated them to about 1000 BCE, in the Iron Age. He concluded that the system existed in the Al Ain region at that date, which would make these the oldest known. UNESCO describes Hili as having one of the oldest examples of the aflaj system.
How it works
A falaj relies on gravity. A tunnel is dug at a slight slope from a water source toward the fields, so the water flows without lifting. Building one called for skills in finding water, engineering, digging and upkeep. The falaj known as Hili 15 preserves every part of the system: a cut-and-cover section where a trench was dug and roofed, an access point where people could draw water, called the shari'a, and open channels that deliver the water to the plots.
What lasted
UNESCO states that the aflaj form the basis of the oases of Al Ain and are evidence of water management in a desert region, part of a history of agriculture there that spans five millennia. The Iron Age in the Emirates, from about 1200 to 300 BCE, is the period to which these channels belong.
Where it stands today
The Cultural Sites of Al Ain, covering Hafit, Hili, Bidaa Bint Saud and the oases, were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2011. The oases are still farmed with the support of authorities and farm owners. UNESCO notes pressure on them from a changing economy, changes in water supply and the closeness of the city.
