To irrigate Granada, archaeologists find old Moorish rivers
800 years ago, the Moors who ruled Spain had a system of canals that transported water from the Sierra Nevada into towns and fields. Today's archaeologists are working to find those canals so they may apply the old irrigation knowledge to modern irrigation practices.
The Acequia de Los Hechos, just south of Granada, Spain, keeps the entire mountainside moist, allowing for farming at just about any altitude.
Jesus Salvador recalls a location above the city of Granada in southern Spain where a canal with running water and a waterfall formerly existed.
"The waterfall would freeze if the winter was cold," he remarked. "In warmer weather, a mist came off this canal, and these hillsides were covered with green moss."
Archaeologists and hundreds of volunteers spent months cleaning out and sometimes entirely redigging the acequia de Aynadamar, just above Granada, Spain. It had been abandoned for nearly half a century.
He said that down the bottom, at the very end, was a wonderful swimming hole known as the "Pool of the Moors."
The now-abandoned canal, or acequia as they are known in Spanish, was constructed during the 800 years that the Moors occupied the region. A sophisticated network of 1,800 miles worth of canals extends from the snow-covered Sierra Nevada mountains to the plains.
Master water engineers, the Moors. They created a network of rivers throughout the area, but much of their expertise has since been lost. Archaeologists are currently working to recover them despite the drought and water restrictions.
Elena Correa, an archaeologist at the University of Granada, inspects part of the acequia de Aynamadar before its reopening.
Over the course of the previous year, this acequia was restored and cleaned by archaeologist Elena Correa from the University of Granada and her team, in addition to numerous volunteers. She claimed that because it originally supplied the Albaicn, the center of Moorish sovereignty in Granada, with all of its drinking water, it has unparalleled historical significance.
With the Alhambra fortress looming directly in front, the Albaicn is a hillside labyrinth of cobbled pathways and whitewashed buildings with a mix of Moorish and Spanish architecture. It attracts a lot of tourists.
Modern machinery is being used to pump water into the numerous fountains throughout the Albaicin. However, a millennia ago, people just used gravity.
All of Granada's water used to flow naturally from a spring that was located about 10 miles into the mountains. Because of the tear-drop shape its designers gave it, it is known as the Well of Tears.
Newly released water from the acequia de Aynadamar, which once fed the ancient Moorish quarter of Granada, Spain, called the Albaicín, soaks into the earth a mile short of its destination. Because water levels are low due to drought.
The sluice was opened when Correa and her colleagues climbed up the canal. It started out as a gush of water but quickly became a trickle. It completely vanished, blending into the dirt canal at a distance of about half a mile from the city. It is intended to get to the University of Granada so that it can be utilized to irrigate the grounds there. But, as Correa noted, this is just the beginning.
Luis Miguel Ortega, the chairman of the irrigation authority for the area, stated, "We inherited this from the Arab farmers. "The knowledge most likely originated in ancient Syria, Jordan, and Persia."
A few nearby hamlets still receive water from The Well of Tears, which is still in operation. Despite being low due to a lack of rainfall, the water is beautifully pure.
The Well of Tears, some 10 miles up the mountain from Granada, Spain, is the source of water for the newly restored canal.
Ortega clarified what he claims to be the true genius of the acequias. He claimed that there are channels higher up in the Sierra Nevada mountains that are not intended for directly watering crops. They continue to move horizontally over the range until the earth simply absorbs all of their water.
Although it may seem unnecessary, the water is actually trickling down the mountainside. Because of this, crops and fruit trees that ordinarily wouldn't thrive at such high and dry altitudes can be found deep below the canals, the man explained.
You must travel several hours up a dirt switchback to a height of around 7,000 feet above sea level in order to access the tallest of these waterways. The Acequia de Los Hechos runs here, above the treeline. It is intended to supply aquifers below and is around three miles long.
The Well of Tears, some 10 miles up the mountain from Granada, Spain, is the source of water for the newly restored acequia.
On his ranch, farmer Alejandro Molina takes care of his chestnut trees and potatoes.
All the crops you can see below receive water from this canal, according to Molin. "This area would turn into a desert if the acequia were cut off."