Ancient Agricultural Techniques Meet Modern Solutions: Bar-Ilan University Tackles Water Scarcity and Food Insecurity

A new study conducted by Bar-Ilan University and the Israel Antiquities Authority suggests that ancient water-harvesting and soil-enrichment techniques from the early Islamic period could provide sustainable solutions for modern-day challenges.

The study suggests that ancient water-harvesting and soil-enrichment techniques could provide sustainable solutions for modern-day water scarcity and food security challenges. By examining historical sunken groundwater-harvesting agroecosystems in various regions, including Israel, Iran, Egypt, Algeria, Gaza, and the Atlantic coast of Iberia, researchers have uncovered innovative approaches to water management and soil fertility. This research, which combines historical, archaeological, and geospatial data, highlights the potential of these traditional techniques to inspire sustainable agricultural practices in arid and marginal regions.

The paper stems from an international workshop at Bar-Ilan University (BIU) in 2023 on continuity-discontinuity of ancient water-harvesting agricultural systems that resulted in a special issue in the journal Environmental Archaeology. This study on early Islamic (late 9th – early 12th century) Plot-and-Berm (P&B) agroecosystems located along Israel’s Mediterranean coast evolved into an investigation of the long-term viability of regional SGHAS as a sustainable agricultural model. These methods to utilize water, typically found near urban settlements, leverage local organic material and urban refuse to enrich the inert sandy substrate, creating fertile grounds for growing crops such as vegetables, watermelons, dates, and grapes. Importantly, SGHAS systems provide a model for long-term water security by utilizing shallow groundwater in conjunction with rainfall for irrigation and groundwater replenishment.
The Israel Science Foundation-funded study was jointly headed by Prof. Joel Roskin from the Department of Environment, Planning and Sustainability at BIU.

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Despite their initial success, early Islamic P&B agricultural systems in Israel were largely abandoned after the Crusader conquest and, surprisingly, were not reestablished. However, these traditional systems found renewed application in regions such as Iran, Algeria, the Gaza Strip, and parts of Iberia since the Middle Ages, where they continue to support agriculture in marginal environments. With many arid and marginal regions facing expanding populations and decreasing water resources, these ancient water-harvesting practices can address the global challenge of sustainable agriculture.

These ancient agroecosystems, which relied on advanced soil enrichment and groundwater harvesting techniques, ensured a continuous supply of shallow groundwater, crucial for agricultural production and food security in arid regions. This demonstrates the resilience and ingenuity of traditional agricultural practices, offering valuable insights for modern sustainable agriculture in water-scarce areas.

The study suggests that these early Islamic agroecosystems were remarkably advanced for their time. The researchers believe this explains the significant gap between the abandonment of these systems and their subsequent reappearance in the 15th century.

“We could not find written or factual evidence of the crops grown in early Islamic times, nor decipher the know-how and motivation for this original, exhaustive and ingenious effort to earthwork, enrich and cultivate sand. However, the inception of traditional Middle Age on SGHASs probably stemmed from a growing demand to cultivate the extensive new world influx of fruits and vegetables from arid zones and the Americas,” notes Prof. Roskin. “We speculate that the Islamic agroecosystems provided several similar species to those found today in the traditional SGHASs. The reappearance in the Middle Ages and third expansion of SGHASs in the late 19th century early 20th century in Iberia suggests that this type of agriculture is adaptable to varying economic and cultural settings and therefore may possess potential for certain, current socio-agronomic scenarios.”