# An Early-Middle Islamic Waterscape in the Hejaz? A Newly Discovered Qanat Network in the Vicinity of Qurḥ (al-Mābiyāt)

Alexia Rosak, Maureen Le Doaré, Julien Charbonnier, Cassandra Furstos, Maria Paola Pellegrino, Francelin Tourtet, Yasmin Kanhoush

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## To cite this version:

Alexia Rosak, Maureen Le Doaré, Julien Charbonnier, Cassandra Furstos, Maria Paola Pellegrino, et al. An Early-Middle Islamic Waterscape in the Hejaz? A Newly Discovered Qanat Network in the Vicinity of Qurḥ (al-Mābiyāt). Open Quaternary, 2025, Human-Environment Interactions in Ancient Arabia, 11, 10.5334/oq.140. hal-04969056

HAL Id: hal-04969056

https://hal.science/hal-04969056v1

Submitted on 27 Feb 2025

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# An Early-Middle Islamic Waterscape in the Hejaz? A Newly Discovered Qanat Network in the Vicinity of Qurḥ (al-Mābiyat)

COLLECTION:
HUMAN-
ENVIRONMENT
INTERACTIONS IN
ANCIENT ARABIA

RESEARCH PAPER

ALEXIA ROSAK ID

MAUREEN LE DOARÉ ID

JULIEN CHARBONNIER ID

CASSANDRA FURSTOS ID

MARIA PAOLA PELLEGRINO ID

FRANCELIN TOURTET ID

YASMIN KANHOUSH ID

Ju[ ubiquity press

## ABSTRACT

The al-Ula Cultural Oasis Project (UCOP) led by Archaios, funded and steered by the French Agency for AlUla Development (AFALULA) on behalf of the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), is investigating since 2021 a hitherto unknown network of qanats surrounding the well-known city of Qurḥ, today known as al-Mābiyat, in the al-ʻUla valley (northwestern Saudi Arabia). Well documented in Islamic sources, Qurḥ was situated on the pilgrimages routes and described as a main power center in the region until the end of the 12th century AD.

As a first step, remote sensing and photo-interpretation were combined with a systematic pedestrian survey to identify the qanats. As a second step, chronological evidence was obtained through the study of the ceramic and glass assemblages collected during the survey. Our preliminary results suggest that these qanats supplied water to the hinterland of Qurḥ and were probably abandoned simultaneously with the city. They therefore form the largest network of qanats, and overall the most extensive waterscape, known from the Early and Middle Islamic periods (7th to 13th century AD) in the Arabian Peninsula.

The creation of the morphological map and the study of local hydrology, combined with the analysis of the spatial organization of these qanats, also suggest that they collected several underground water sources.

This ongoing study thus highlights the role played by water management in the urban development in the northern Hejaz during the Early and Middle Islamic periods.

## CORRESPONDING AUTHOR:

Alexia Rosak

Archaeologist, PhD student,
Université de Paris 1-Panthéon
Sorbonne, UMR 8167, Archaios,
Paris, France

alexia.rosak@archaios.fr

## KEYWORDS:

hydraulic system; qanat; remote sensing; Saudi Arabia; Qurḥ

## TO CITE THIS ARTICLE:

Rosak, A, Le Doaré, M, Charbonnier, J, Furstos, C, Pellegrino, MP, Tourtet, F and Kanhoush, Y. 2025. An Early-Middle Islamic Waterscape in the Hejaz? A Newly Discovered Qanat Network in the Vicinity of Qurḥ (al-Mābiyat). *Open Quaternary*, 11: 5, pp. 1–22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/oq.140

<footnote>*Author affiliations can be found in the back matter of this article</footnote>
INTRODUCTION

Water management is a central issue in the study of human settlements and urban development throughout the ages. Its significance becomes even more pronounced in arid and semi-arid environments. Traditionally, qanats are known throughout the Islamic world from North Africa to the Near and Middle East and are still in operation in many regions. In Saudi Arabia, however, extensive damage inflicted by modern development, as well as the widespread adoption of drilled wells, led to the abandonment of many qanat systems by the late 20th century AD (al-Bassam & Zaidi 2016: 218). Qanats are underground galleries draining water upstream from deep aquifers or shallow water tables and which, by a gentle slope and gravity, allow the water to reach the surface downstream. At this stage, water can be stored in cisterns or supplied directly to the fields via channels. Qanats are punctuated by an alignment of access shafts, facilitating the digging, ventilation and maintenance of the gallery over time (Semsar Yazdi & Labbaf Khaneiki 2017: 23). Generally, the spoil material from the digging forms a distinctive circular mound around these shafts.

The length of the gallery can span dozens of kilometers, depending among others on the geomorphology of the terrain and the location of irrigated fields (Semsar Yazdi & Labbaf Khaneiki 2017: 22). It is a substantial work that may reflect either a local initiative, with villages seeking to improve their irrigation system, or a regional/ state ambition to consolidate power through urban expansion and the agricultural prosperity of hinterlands (Charbonnier 2018). Unlike modern pumps, the qanat system drains water from underground resources which can be gradually recharged. It provides an annual supply of water and avoids dependence on surface water which is often seasonal in arid and semi-arid zones. Consequently, once a qanat is established, it offers a sustainable way of irrigating fields (Manuel, Lightfoot & Fattahi 2018).

Despite their widespread presence in the Middle East, the history of qanats remains relatively obscure due to the difficulty of dating these long-lasting features. Recently, two absolute dating techniques, Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) and Uranium-Thorium, have been applied to qanat systems in Spain, Morocco (Bailiff et al. 2015; Bailiff et al. 2019), Oman (Cremaschi et al. 2018) and Iran (Fattahi 2015). They have yielded significant results, although their scope is still limited.

In the Arabian Peninsula, knowledge of the history of qanats varies greatly from one region to another. Regarding the pre-Islamic period, qanats are firmly established only in southeastern Arabia (Del Cerro & Córdoba 2018; al-Tikriti 2002). Excavations in the al-Ain oasis, United Arab Emirates, also provided archeological evidence for Early Islamic qanats – locally called *dawāḍr aflāj* (al-Tikriti 2011; Sheehan et al. 2022; Sheehan et al. 2023).

In Saudi Arabia, documentation is more limited and confined to the Islamic period. Al-Bassam lists several

of these structures across the country, but only a few have been studied in detail (al-Bassam & Zaidi 2016). Concerning the Early and Middle Islamic periods, our knowledge derives primarily from written sources. Mentions of qanat construction in Arabic sources should however be treated with caution, because there may be confusion between their date of construction and their date of renovation, for example.

To the west of Saudi Arabia, the qanat of Ayn Zubaydah, dated from the beginning of Islam, was ordered by Queen Zubaydah. Located in Wadi Numan, east of Mecca, it extended for 27 km and provided water to the surroundings of Mecca. It was composed of 130 shafts. This qanat functioned until 1974 before drying out due to intensive pumping (al-Bassam & Zaidi 2016: 220). In Medina, many qanats were built and/or renovated at the beginning of the Islamic era according to several authors from the 14th and 15th centuries (Nasif 1988: 216). According to Nasif, three qanats date from this period: az-Zarqa, al-Malihah and az-Zubair, the first two having been completed at the request of the first Umayyad caliph Mu'awiyah (661-680 AD) (Nasif 1988: 216). In Yanbu an-Nakhl, Yaqut mentions 170 qanats. Several of these are said to have been built by the fourth caliph of Islam, Ali ibn Abi Talib (656-661 AD) in Arabic sources (Nasif 1988: 220, 222).

Outside of Arabia, recent research in the Balikh Valley in Syria has highlighted extensive irrigation systems from the Early Islamic period. Large-scale canal systems and qanat networks allowed to exploit both perennial surface water sources, such as the river and its tributaries, and groundwater to supply surrounding sites, as well as to reach marginal areas and increase crop yields (Rayne 2020).

Overall, our knowledge of Early-Middle Islamic qanat systems remains limited at the scale of the Arabian Peninsula. The discovery of a hitherto unknown network of qanats in the immediate vicinity of Qurh, a city of the Early and Middle Islamic periods and known today as al-Mabiyāt, should thus significantly advance our knowledge of this technology at that time in Arabia. These qanats were first identified during the Identification and Documentation of Immovable Heritage Assets (IDIHA) survey, supported by the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) (Morabito et al. 2022). The detailed mapping and study of this landscape was then carried out by the al-Ula Cultural Oasis Project (UCOP) (Charbonnier et al. 2022: 52), an interdisciplinary research program undertaken by Archaios and funded and steered by the French Agency for AlUla Development (AFALULA) on behalf of the RCU. Initiated in 2019, UCOP aims to understand the development of al-Ulā oasis, located in the Hejaz region, northwestern Saudi Arabia (Charbonnier et al. 2022: 52).

The qanats discussed in this paper are located in UCOP's south area of study (Figure 1). The latter, which corresponds to the northwestern part of the plain surrounding the city of Qurh, extends over 3,270 hectares,
from the southern suburbs of al-ʻUla modern town to
the present-day gardens of Mughairah. The survey and
mapping of the qanats was conducted over three field
seasons, from Spring 2021 to Fall 2022. During the
following years, test trenches were opened across shafts
or structures associated with the qanats in order to clarify
their nature and collect dating data. The results of the
soundings across shafts will however not be discussed in
detail here as data is still being processed and absolute
datings are not yet available. The discussion will mostly
focus here on the results of the remote sensing/photo-
interpretation and of the field survey. Establishing the
archaeological map enabled us to identify the location
of Qurh oasis, as well as the groundwater source of the
qanats, and to provide first dating elements thanks to
the study of archaeological material.

The study of this qanat system provides unprecedented
information regarding Qurh's hinterland and the history
of water management in northwestern Arabia.

# 1. STATE OF THE ART

**1.1. ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT**

The current climate of al-ʻUla is hyper arid, with very
low annual rainfall ranging from 40 to 100 mm/year
(Jennings et al. 2015: 3; Seraphin et al. 2022: 5759). The
mean annual temperature is around 26°C, rising up to
45°C during the summer and dropping to 8°C during the
winter (Seraphin et al. 2022: 5759; Toumi et al. 2015: 2).
This leads the potential evaporation in the region to reach
more than 3,500 mm/year, which represents more than
90% of rainfall (UN-ESCWA & BGR 2013: 302). However,
extreme rainfalls might occur through thunderstorms
and potential flash floods (Vincent 2008: 69).

The climate has evolved through the last millennia
and was wetter at the beginning of the Quaternary era,
between 300-600 mm/year (Jennings et al. 2015: 14).
Some wetter periods also occurred punctually during the
Holocene, including a time from 1.300 to 700 BP as Arab

<figure><img src="image_4.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 1** UCOP study areas in al-ʻUla valley (GIS: G. Gourret; Archaios-UCOP).</figcaption></figure>
geographers mentioned rivers in now deserted areas
(Vincent 2008: 91).

The area of al-ʻUlā presents a simple geological context, mainly characterized by sandstone (Siq Sandstone) from the Cambrian era. Basalt deposits from the Tertiary period were deposited above this sandstone to the west, forming the Ḩarrat al-ʻUwayriḍ, a mountain range culminating at c.1,800 m a.s.l. and bordering the al-ʻUlā valley. The latter is c.30 km-long, north-south oriented and located at an altitude of 700 m above sea level.

Toward the south, around Qurḥ, the geological context becomes more complex, featuring igneous and metamorphic pre-Cambrian rocks formations, mainly rhyolite (Shammar Rhyolite) and greenstone (Jiddah Greenstone) (Hadley 1987a; Hadley 1987b). This geological diversity creates an abrupt change in the landscape, transitioning from a narrow valley surrounded by steep sandstone cliffs to a broader expanse bordered by gentler reliefs and filled with alluvial and aeolian deposits.

Latter area constitutes the plain of Qurḥ and it is marked by sparse vegetation (bushes and rare trees) (Figure 2). The plain is incised by the wadi al-ʻUlā in its western part. Many small alluvial fans, emerging from steep mountainous wadi catchments (Blair & McPherson 2009: 413), are visible as conical landforms near the mountains in the plain. The al-ʻUlā wadi flows from northwest to southeast, making a major turn westwards near the current palm grove of Mughairah and following the general orientation of underground water flows (UN-ESCWA & BGR 2013: 299; Toumi et al. 2015: 3). The plain is mostly covered by alluvium (gravels, sands, and silts), but to the north an area of high sand dunes stretches along a sabkha (Figure 3) (Shaw & Bryant 1989).

The al-ʻUlā valley is situated at the southern end of the Saq-Ram Aquifer System, which spans over 520,000 km² between Jordan and northwestern Saudi Arabia, along the eastern border of the Arabian Shield (Seraphin

et al. 2022: 5759; UN-ESCWA & BGR 2013: 302). In the al-ʻUlā valley, this aquifer reaches a mean depth of 70 m and flows towards the southwest (Toumi et al. 2015: 3). Intense exploitation of the aquifer through pumping, and its very low recharge rate related to the hyper arid climate, have made it one of the world's most overstressed aquifer systems (Seraphin et al. 2022: 5759; UN-ESCWA & BGR 2013: 310).

Apart from the modern road connecting al-ʻUlā to the airport and crossing the plain perpendicularly, and another road towards Mughairah, the plain of Qurḥ is relatively spared from major modern infrastructure (Figure 4). This has allowed for the preservation of most of the qanat remains, which have been primarily impacted by erosion.

## 1.2. QURḤ: AN EARLY ISLAMIC CITY IN THE WADI AL-QURA

Al-ʻUlā has held a prominent position on trade and pilgrimage roads in western Arabia since the pre-Islamic period. The city of Dadan, located in the middle of the valley, was already a major commercial and political center in northwestern Arabia, before being integrated to the Lihyanite kingdom (Rohmer & Charloux 2015; Rohmer et al. 2022). During the Nabataean period, Ḩegrā (al-Ḥijr) became the main settlement site and an important stopover on the caravan routes (Nehmé et al. 2006; Durand & Gerber 2014; Rohmer & Charloux 2015).

With the rise of Islam, historical texts refer to the city of Qurḥ during a visit by the Prophet Mahomet (Bosworth et al. 1986: 497). This site seems to have become the valley's main urban center in the Early-Middle Islamic periods. At this time, several Arabic sources mention Qurḥ and the region of the Wadi al-Qura as a major Islamic settlement on the pilgrimage road from Damascus and Egypt to Mecca and Medina (Nasif 1988: 11–116; al-Wohaibi 1969: 355). According to Nasif, the valley

<figure><img src="image_5.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 2** The landscape in the plain of Qurḥ (Archaïos-UCOP and A.Rosak).</figcaption></figure>
<figure><img src="image_6.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 3** Geomorphological map of the plain of Qurh (GIS: M. Le Doaré; Archaios-UCOP).</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_7.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 4** Qanat network in the plain of Qurh (GIS: M. Le Doaré; Archaios-UCOP).</figcaption></figure>
is considered by al-Muqaddas as the fourth region of Arabia after al-Ahqaf, al-Ashhar and al-Yamamah. Al-Istakhri (in 952) mentions the wadi as the third largest region of the Hejaz, after Mecca and Medina (Nasif 1988: 113). However, by the end of the 12th century AD, Yaqut described the city of Qurh as deserted (Nasif 1988: 113; al-Wohaibi 1969: 361). Neither Abu Shamah Al-Maqdisi ad-Dimashqi (in 621 H/1224 AD), nor al-Abdari (in 1289 AD) mentioned the Wadi al-Qura when crossing al-Ula on the pilgrim road (Nasif 1988: 114). The city seemingly vanished from the texts in favor of the town of al-Ula, and its location was subsequently forgotten. During the 19th century, it seems that no one knew the toponym of Qurh in the al-Ula valley (Doughty 1888: 161). It was not until the 1980's that Abdallah Nasif identified the archaeological site of al-Mabiyat as the city of Qurh, thanks to a review of textual sources (Nasif 1988: 111-116; Nasif 2022: 140).

In the 1960's, a team of the University of London supervised by Peter Parr was the first to document the site of al-Mabiyat, as part of their survey of the al-Ula valley (Parr, Harding & Dayton 1970). The site was then excavated by the Department of Archaeology of the King Saud University in Riyadh (KSU) from 2004 to 2019 (al-Omeer 2006; Bin Ibrahim al-Muaiki et al. 2011; al-Ghazzi et al. 2018; al-Aboudi et al. 2019), uncovering a large residential area in its northeastern part. Since 2022, a new investigation (survey and excavation) and restoration project has been undertaken by the Deutsches

Archäologisches Institut (DAI) under the supervision of Arnulf Hausleiter. In particular, it includes a geophysical component that will make it possible to understand the organization of its urban space.

The site of Qurh, which extends over 40 ha (Figure 5), reveals a well-defined urban layout. A large earthen-made rampart surrounds the city, partially exposed by the KSU in its eastern part, and two gates were identified. The surface of the site is covered with pottery sherds, with the notable presence of imported glazed pottery productions. The site comprises a kiln area in the center, an area with wells and what is referred to as a holding basin, as well as a mosque, identified to the east (Gilmore et al. 1985: 111-112). A birkah, arabic term for tank, reservoir or cistern (Petersen 1996: 35), is located outside the rampart to the southeast, with remains of structures around, and a cemetery to the northwest. Finally, about 900 m to the southeast of the site, the remains of a fort and of a pre-Islamic settlement were observed.

Despite the arid climate and limited surface water in the region, Qurh thrived as a large urban center. This prosperity can be attributed to a well-developed irrigation system. The area is described by Yakut, quoting Ibn al-Kalbi, as a fertile valley dotted with villages from one end to the other, although only ruins remain from his times, water resources were wasted and there was no one to exploit them (al-Wohaibi 1969: 361). Yakut also quotes al-Sakuni saying that 80 springs were rediscovered there. Al-Muqaddas wrote

<figure><img src="image_8.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 5** Orthophotograph and Hillshaded terrain (LiDAR data) of the city of Qurh (GIS: M. Le Doaré; Archaios-UCOP).</figcaption></figure>
in 985 AD about the Wadi al-Qura (city of Qurḥ) that the town is surrounded by villages and fields for the cultivation of palm trees and that the water is plentiful but heavy (Nasif 1988: 118–119). The same is reported by al-Wohaibi quoting al-Muqaddasī (1969: 261, 358) when mentioning ‘copious springs of water’, although they are also stating that the latter are unwholesome. According to al-Wohaibi (1969: 359), al-Bakri quotes Ibn al-Kalbi mentioning that the population of Wadi al-Qura, consisting mainly of Jews, ‘cultivated the land and discovered its springs and planted palm trees’. Despite historical accounts pointing to a flourishing oasis and sophisticated irrigation systems in Qurḥ, archaeological evidence was so far lacking.

# 2. METHODOLOGY

## 2.1. PHOTO-INTERPRETATION AND REMOTE SENSING

Remote sensing through aerial and satellite imagery is a powerful tool for surveying wide areas, such as qanat networks (Luo et al. 2014; Cremaschi et al. 2018; Soroush et al. 2020; Brummelhuis 2021). Qanats present distinctive shapes within the landscape, allowing for their detection through semi-automated and manual techniques. This makes remote sensing particularly well-suited for mapping qanats, which often cover vast areas and include a high number of features. It then enables narrowing the areas for the on-site survey, leading to more efficient fieldwork.

The remote survey of the qanats in UCOP south area of study was a two-step process: firstly, a photo-interpretation study based on visual observation of the imagery, followed by a remote sensing analysis using LiDAR data.

Regarding the photo-interpretation, our dataset included declassified satellite imagery (CORONA (1965, 1980) and HEXAGON (1977, 1982)), an aerial photograph from the early 1970s, 40 cm resolution LiDAR data and 10 cm resolution orthophotographs from drone survey (RCU - Geotech 2018), as well as Google Earth archives (since 2003). Once the data was integrated into the GIS, and if needed, georeferenced, a systematic photo-interpretation was conducted through the whole corpus in order to identify qanat remains, mostly access shafts.

Regarding the remote sensing, the LiDAR analysis (i.e. Multi-directional hillshaded relief, Sky-View Factor (Zakšek, Oštir, & Kokalj 2011), Valley Depth (Conrad 2012) and Sink detection (Wall, Doctor & Terziotti 2015)), allows to enhance the reliefs, even those heavily eroded, through the exaggeration of the elevation or by highlighting specific changes in the topography (i.e. shallow or steep depression). The terrain analysis of the LiDAR also proved crucial in overcoming the low contrast of this desertic landscape, which can obscure some features.

Hillshade analysis of DEM is the most common visualization tool for terrain analysis. The chosen azimuth is crucial as it can either fade or enhance some features. Simulated light matching the orientation of some structures can cause their relief to fade, leaving no shadow for detection. A multi-directional hillshaded terrain analysis was hence favored, to avoid multiple analyses, as it combines all orientations.

Valley Depth is a tool highlighting land depressions and ridges. It is 'calculated as the difference between the elevation and an interpolated ridge level' (SAGA-GIS, Conrad 2012). It was mostly used to detect ridges created by the weathering of former shafts, now appearing as large, linear earth mounds. It allows a better visualization of the relative elevation of the plain's relief compared to a standard elevation colored model.

Finally, a two-step raster analysis was performed in an attempt to automatically detect the qanats, described here as 'sink detection'. The first step is to artificially fill every topographic depression in the DEM, related to qanats or not, using a dedicated algorithm (we used Fill Sinks, SAGA, Wang & Liu 2006), usually used for hydrographic analysis. Then, the difference between the original DEM and the filled DEM was calculated (Filled DEM - Original DEM = detection of the sinks), resulting in a raster tile containing only pixels of topographic depressions. In theory, round and aligned depressions correspond to qanat shafts. This method has been used on sink-hole depressions in karst by several authors and has provided good results in automatic or semi-automated detection (Wall, Doctor & Terziotti 2015; de Carvalho et al. 2014). While most qanat shafts were too eroded to allow the use of this tool as automated or semi-automated, some areas where shafts presented a well-visible depression provided significant results.

The combination of remote sensing and photo-interpretation increased the certainty of qanat features detection and allowed for a preliminary documentation; with information regarding their state of preservation (preserved, eroded or destroyed), certainty of detection, and sources used for their identification. However, some gaps remain in the qanat network, especially around the gardens of Mughairah where modern palm groves prevented the identification of remains. Furthermore, many intermittent wadi channels follow the same orientation as qanats, making them difficult to differentiate. At the end of this stage, qanat shafts were recorded as point features in the GIS.

In parallel, the geomorphological context of Qurḥ's plain was vectorized in the GIS using remote sensing data and the 1/25 000 scale geological map (Hadley 1987a; Hadley 1987b) (Figure 3). Through multi-spectral satellite imagery (Sentinel-2- ESA, 2021) with a resolution of 10 to 30 m, indices were computed (False Color Infrared, SWIR, or NDVI) to highlight geological and geomorphological features such as sand dunes, alluvial fans or sabkha.
## 2.2. FIELD SURVEY

The field survey methodology consisted of following qanat remains already identified through remote sensing and photo-interpretation. A tablet with QField software was used to locate them easily in the field. Shafts or other archaeological structures were documented using UCOP survey forms and photographed. Each shaft was thus recorded as an archaeological structure with a unique inventory number, following UCOP protocol (Charbonnier et al. 2022: 56–58). Collected data was then recorded into the project database (Microsoft Access). In parallel, a draft field GIS was updated daily with the QField data. This process involved checking the shafts surveyed in the field against the GIS to monitor survey progress and to limit errors, given the relatively high number of shafts surveyed each day. It also allowed the comparison of remote sensing and field survey results. Finally, qanat shafts were added to the geodatabase of the project as vectorized polygons using field documentation and high-resolution orthophotographs.

Once the field survey was completed, the comprehensive overview of the network allowed us to associate various shaft lines, which were often separated by gaps, and to distinguish the different qanats. The latter also received an inventory number.

## 2.3. METHODOLOGY OF MATERIAL STUDIES: POTTERY AND GLASS

Archaeological material and samples collected during the survey were recorded in a dedicated database (Microsoft Excel). In most cases, the shafts or the archaeological structures (walls and channel) on which they were found provided a spatial context. When the artifacts were not found on a structure, scatter areas were created, the extent of which corresponds to that of the surface material, to locate it in the GIS. As the remains are surface collected, we focused on the study of datable elements: pottery and glassware.

### 2.3.a. Pottery study

The methodological approach of pottery analysis has been defined as a response to the challenges inherent to the UCOP pottery assemblage: its size (more than 50,000 sherds), its chronological heterogeneity (spanning 4,000 years), and its poor state of preservation (mainly small sherds). In this perspective, a morpho-typological approach was chosen, focusing on diagnostic sherds of all periods. Firstly, and once the pottery collections were washed and preliminary recorded, all diagnostic sherds were separated, labeled, and divided into four chronological groups (pre-Islamic, Islamic, contemporary, and undated) according to a preliminary estimation of their age. Secondly, each group was subdivided into smaller, homogeneous groups, either defined by other archaeological projects working in the region, or visually identifiable by us within the UCOP corpus. Thirdly, sherds

belonging to each homogeneous group were considered individually, systematically recording their most important characteristics (fabrics, manufacturing techniques, surface treatments, and decorations), and establishing their morpho-typology. Fourthly, representative items of each morpho-type were selected for drawing and photographic documentation. Finally, comparisons were sought at local and regional levels, aiming at dating each morpho-type as precisely as possible.

### 2.3.b. Glass studies

The methodology followed in the glass study combines a typological and a technological approach. For the typological study, all the diagnostic fragments (rims, bottoms, handles, necks, fragments of body decorated in relief) were analyzed in order to establish the various types of vessel shapes. Studies were also conducted on the technological aspects of glass vessel manufacture: technical and tool marks, defects, but also color and translucency constitute relevant clues to characterize the object. The typo-technological study provides significant chronological data by comparing glass fragments with published material from well-dated contexts.

## 3. RESULTS

Two thousand two hundred and forty-nine qanat shafts were initially detected through remote sensing within the south area of study. The survey has allowed refining this inventory and bringing the total to 2,310 shafts (Figure 4): a few identifications proved to be false while additional shafts, not visible on the imagery, have been identified on the field. Two hundred and fifty-six shafts were also detected outside of the study area, southwest of Qurh, in the area of Mughairah. The latter have however not been verified in the field.

Regarding their state of preservation, 1,129 qanat shafts were recorded as ‘Preserved’, 1,039 as ‘Eroded’, and 142 as ‘ DESTROYED’ (Figure 6). The preserved shafts were recorded and fully documented as they were clearly visible and identifiable on the field. The eroded shafts were identified through remote sensing but were too eroded to be documented on the field, as they were barely visible. Indeed, the eroded shafts can mostly be observed on the ground as large undefined roundish spots presenting a color contrast with their surrounding and aligned with other shafts. The destroyed shafts are those visible on archive imagery, or sometimes recorded on the field during the first surveys, but meanwhile destroyed by modern infrastructures (road, earthwork, etc.).

At least 12 distinct qanats were identified in the plain around Qurh, some composed of several converging branches. Additionally, 30 qanat ‘sections’ were mapped but could not be conclusively linked to any of the main identified qanats.¹
<figure><img src="image_9.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 6** State of preservation of qanats shafts in the plain of Qurh (GIS: M. Le Doaré; Archaios-UCOP).</figcaption></figure>

**3.1. EXTENT AND SPATIAL ORGANIZATION OF THE QANAT SYSTEM**

The distribution of qanat shafts and our view of this waterscape is partly affected by their state of conservation, which varies greatly from one area to another. First of all, motorway 375, leading from the modern city to the al-ʻUla airport, was built right in the middle of the south area of study and is oriented northeast to southwest. It therefore cuts all the qanats in half and sometimes prevents us from connecting lines of shafts. From the latter, a second road –328- branches off and crosses the plain from north to south, again intersecting several qanats.

Secondly, the establishment of the modern gardens of Mughairah, to the south of the study area, largely destroyed the downstream part of the network and erased potential evidence of related irrigated perimeters (Figure 6). This palm grove was developed at the end of the 1960's. Indeed, few gardens are visible at the very south and east of Mughairah on a 1965 CORONA imagery while on another shot from 1972 the area is largely cultivated. Moreover, the qanat shafts have suffered significant impact from wind and water erosion as this barren plain is intersected by several wadis.

Despite these limitations, valuable observations can still be made regarding the extent and organization of this waterscape (Figure 4). The qanats cross the entire Qurh's plain from northwest to southeast, following the natural slope of the valley. Indeed, of the 42 sections of qanats identified, 36 have this orientation. Logically, the highest concentration of visible qanats lies in the northwestern part of the plain, between al-ʻUla city's southern fringe and the present-day palm grove of Mughairah. However, our photo-interpretation and remote sensing surveys allowed us to identify qanat sections to the southwest of Qurh and south of Mughairah, suggesting that some of them supplied this area.

Within the perimeter of the UCOP south area of study, the density heat map of recorded shafts shows a higher concentration in the southern part, where qanats morphology is more complex (Figure 7). Many branches intersect at that point, as the galleries are approaching the surface, making it difficult to determine which qanat each branch corresponds to. Conversely, in the northern part, only a sparse concentration of shafts can be observed. It can be explained in part by modern disturbances and the presence of large sand dunes in the area, but above all
<figure><img src="image_10.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 7** Density of qanat shafts in the south area of study (GIS: M. Le Doaré; Archaios-UCOP).</figcaption></figure>

by a will to increase the draining area of the qanats to prevent them from competing with each other.

Overall, the longest visible qanat - OS_19680- stretches over 8 km, starting from the southern suburb of al-'Ula and extending southward beyond the survey area, around 700 m west of Qurh. Its various branches total 22 km. Qanat OS_19679, which runs to the east of OS_19680 is about 5.5 km long and OS_19687, to the west of the plain, can be followed for about 6 km. These dimensions indicate a significant waterscape, which would have required an enormous amount of work required to develop (Figure 8).

We identified two types of qanat in terms of morphology (Figure 8). The simplest type displays a main gallery and shorter side branches (OS_19678, OS_19679, OS_19682, OS_19683, OS_19684, OS_19685, OS_19689, OS_19691, and OS_19693), with an average length of 4.1 km (minimum length 2.2 km, maximum length 6.5 km). The more complex type consists of several main lines of shafts upstream that at some point merge into a single branch (OS_19680, OS_19681, and OS_19687). In some cases, the latter may split again into two or more separated branches, indicating that it was feeding different irrigation perimeters.

The side branches can help to increase the qanat flow rate (Semsar Yazdi & Labbaf Khaneiki 2017: 19). They can also be dug at a later time to compensate for a drop in the water table that would lower the flow rate of the qanat or to replenish it after a collapse of the gallery (Semsar Yazdi & Labbaf Khaneiki 2017: 117; El-Faiz & Ruf 2010: 154).

## 3.2. QANAT REMAINS

### 3.2.a. Morphological typology of the qanat shafts

A morphological typology of qanat shafts was established, based on their size (diameter and height), the presence or absence of a central depression, as well as of surface sediments (Figures 8, 9, and 10). Three types were thus identified: ‘doughnut’, ‘relief’, and ‘depression’. These types are mainly related to erosion and sedimentation dynamics. These morphological variations reflect diverse geomorphological contexts (dunes, alluvial fans, wadi banks, etc.), which led to erosion and silting phenomena differing from one place to another. The construction and maintenance of the qanats should also be considered for this typology, as they can influence these dynamics (sealing of some shafts, addition of qanat galleries, dredging, etc.).
<figure><img src="image_11.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 8** Distribution of the types of shafts and of walls associated with the qanats (GIS: M. Le Doaré; Archaios-UCOP).</figcaption></figure>

The ‘doughnut’ type describes a circular or semi-circular mound of earth surrounding a central depression that marks the former access shaft. This mound, formed by the accumulation of excavated material, results from the digging and the maintenance of the shaft and qanat underground gallery. There are 763 doughnut-type shafts recorded out of the 1,129 preserved shafts.

The ‘relief’ type is characterized by a large circular or semi-circular mound of earth, similar to the doughnut type, but without a central depression. It is assumed that this type originates from an initial doughnut whose central depression has been filled with aeolian deposits. A sounding opened in a relief-type shaft supports this hypothesis. Three hundred and two relief-type shafts have been recorded.

The ‘depression’ type is identified as a circular or semi-circular hole in the ground, devoid of any surrounding mound. This type results probably from the total erosion

of the spoil around the access shaft, with the central hole indicating an initial infilling with aeolian deposits that were subsequently heavily eroded. Sixty-four depression-type shafts have been identified.

Additionally, in a few cases, some ‘masoned accesses’ were visible on the surface. These correspond to well-constructed vertical access shafts lined with stones. They can be found either in the center of a doughnut or relief-type shaft, or isolated on the ground.

### 3.2.b. Ridges

While individual shafts might not always be readily visible, the presence of a qanat can sometimes be revealed by features we termed ‘ridges’ (Figure 11). These linear earth mounds offer valuable clues about the qanat’s underground course.

In some cases, the ridges may indicate closely spaced qanat shafts. Over time, erosion or other disturbances
<figure><img src="image_12.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 9** Morphological typology of the qanat shafts (DAO: M. Le Doaré; Archaios-UCOP).</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_13.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 10** The various types of shafts. A: 'doughnut' type; B: 'relief' type; C: 'depression' type; D: masoned access (Archaios-UCOP).</figcaption></figure>

obscured the individual boundaries of these shafts, causing them to appear as a continuous mound. Alternatively, the ridges might also correspond to qanat sections built using the 'cut-and-cover' method. This technique, attested in South-East Arabia (al-Tikriti 2002:117), involves digging trenches, lining them with stone slabs or vaults for support, and then covering them with earth. The resulting surface feature would be a linear mound, similar to the observed ridges. However, the use of this construction method remains hypothetical in our study area, as we did not excavate these ridges.

Forty-four ridges have been identified, documented and recorded as archaeological structures through remote sensing and survey. They are scattered all over the survey area and exhibit varying degrees of preservation. Some ridges have visible shafts along their track, while others lack any apparent shafts. Some qanats, like qanat OS_19679, present several ridges measuring a cumulative 4.5 km, i.e. about 70% of the qanat total length.

Looking at the entire network, the total length of all documented ridges is about 28 km, i.e. approximately 30% of the total length of the qanats. This significant
percentage highlights the importance of ridges in identifying and tracing the underground galleries.

### 3.2.c. Diversion and protection walls

Twenty-one walls and one additional structure were recorded along qanats in the south area. Based on their location, these features are assumed to have a hydraulic function (Figure 8).² They were probably built to prevent the flooding of the qanat shafts and to channel water from the nearby gullies. Two distinct types of walls can be distinguished (Figure 12). The first one includes walls bordering or encasing individual shafts, oriented to prevent them from the floods. Nine such walls were recorded, eight being associated with one specific qanat (OS_19687), located in an area crossed by gullies, near a wadi visible from either side of the road 328. These are among the longest walls documented, ranging from 7 to 45 m in length. Their width measures between 0.6 and 1.5 m.

The second type corresponds to walls running perpendicular to the axis of the qanat and crossing it, either as isolated structures or arranged in pairs. The latter are positioned parallel to each other and set between two shafts. Their primary purpose is to channel runoff water away from the qanat shafts to prevent potential damage. Eleven walls of this type were recorded, with three concentrated along the same branch of qanat OS_19683, over a distance of 300 m. Two pairs of parallel walls were also identified in small sites located in the southeastern part of the south area of study, along qanat OS_19679.³

These two types of walls are all stone-built. They are badly preserved, with only one course of stone visible at the surface. From what could be observed, they all exhibit a similar masonry: two facings of squared stones filled with smaller stones, likely constructed without mortar.

Two different types of stones were observed in the wall construction: sandstones and volcanic rocks. The concentration of volcanic stones in two specific areas, along qanats OS_19687 and OS_19683, suggests they might have been extracted when digging the qanat shafts. This could indicate that diggers either encountered volcanic rock pockets or reached the substratum.

### 3.2.d. Primary channel

Downstream, and southeast of the qanat OS_19680, a 700 m long masonry structure, with the same orientation as the qanats, was identified as early as 2021, OS_11250, which was initially interpreted as a wall. Three soundings opened along its way in spring 2024 have revealed that this is a water channel, equipped with stone-built sidewalls and at least partially paved. At the location of the soundings, the channel bottom is below ground level, which suggests that we are dealing with the downstream end of a qanat, presumably OS_19680, that is extended by a trench. The surface outlet of this structure would thus be located about 1 km northwest of Qurh.

## 3.3. SURFACE MATERIAL COLLECTED

Surface material was collected over 75 shafts, 44 hydraulic structures, 29 scatter areas, and 2 archaeological sites located along the qanats (Figure 13). It mainly corresponds to pottery sherds (80%), and glass fragments (14%), but also, in a lower proportion, flint artifacts (4%), and other fragments including metal, shells and other types of material (2%).

The assemblage appears to be quite homogeneous in dating, pointing toward the Early-Middle Islamic periods. However, we should keep in mind that the pottery typology and macroscopic fabrics are not well-known in the region and that the pottery study can only provide

<figure><img src="image_14.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 11** Example of qanat ridges (GIS: M. Le Doaré; Archaios-UCOP).</figcaption></figure>
<figure><img src="image_15.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 12** Protection walls associated with the qanats (Archaïos-UCOP).</figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="image_16.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 13** Distribution of the various types of material collected along the qanats in the south area of study (GIS: M. Le Doaré; Archaïos-UCOP).</figcaption></figure>
some preliminary hypotheses that need to be confirmed
by the excavation of contemporary archaeological sites.
The same goes for the fragments of glass. Nevertheless,
this is a first step towards dating these structures.

3.3.a. Pottery

Pottery emerged as the most abundant category of
collected material, with a total of 823 fragments, mostly
body sherds. Although the assemblage is overall very
fragmentary and the sherds of small size, the corpus is
very homogeneous, and all the diagnostic sherds can
be dated to the Early-Middle Islamic periods (7th/8th to
10th/11th centuries AD).

The main fabric within the pottery corpus is the so-
called ‘Cream Ware’ (82% of the assemblage), a wide
range of fine wheel-thrown vessels, sometimes decorated

on their external surface with incised geometric patterns
(e.g., wavy lines, horizontal lines, and circles) (Figure
14a). Cream Ware is well attested at Qurḥ (e.g. al-Muʻaiql
2011: Pl. 3.10a; al-Omeer 2006: Pls. 10.7, 10.8a), which
is likely one of the region's primary production centres
(pers. communication M. Ahmad). Parallels for this ware
have been found in distant locations like Iraq, Iran, Egypt,
and southern Arabia (Ciuk & Keall 1996: 42, Pl. 95/12;
Kennet 2004: 57; Mason & Keall 1990: 175; Walmsley
2001: 304–313, fig. 7; Whitcomb & Johnson 1979: Pls.
38: b, c). Only 8% of the corpus consists of glazed ware.
All these fragments are unfortunately non-diagnostic
and the poor preservation of their glaze prevents a clear
identification of the glazed pottery productions. The
remaining 10% of the pottery corpus is composed of 5%
of pre-Islamic sherds and 5% of undated sherds.

<figure><img src="image_17.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 14** Surface material collected in the south area. **a.** Pottery fragments of ‘Cream Ware’. **b-g.** Glass vessels: rims of bowls (**b**, **c**), lamp hollow stem (**d**), cut-decorated fragment (**e**) and tong-impressed fragments (**f**, **g**). **h.** Quarter of a dirham minted during the reign of the Abbasid caliph Al-Mansur (754–775 AD) (DAO: C. Furstos, M. P. Pellegrino; Archäios-UCOP).</figcaption></figure>
### 3.3.b. Glass

Regarding the glass material, the most frequent fragments belong to bowls and beakers. They include simple rims that are similar to vessels found in contexts dated from 7th to 11th centuries (Hadad 2005: Pls. 1.18, 19, 25, 26; Pl. 25. 481; Pls. 26. 520, 526; ibid. Pls. 27. 528-530, 535) and more specific shapes that provide additional dating evidence, such as three incurved thickened rounded rims (Figure 14b) (Gorin-Rosen & Katsnelson 2005: 108, fig. 3. 24; Hadad 2005: Pls. 1. 14, 16, 23, 24, Pls. 26. 522, 523; Pollak 2003: 166-68, fig. 2. 21-22), two thickened rims forming a bulge on their outer surface below the rim identical to fragments found in al-Mābiyāt (Gilmore et al. 1985: Pl. 104. 2, 3), and a rim with an external ridge (Figure 14c), similar to vessels dated to the 10th century (Kröger 1995: n°12 and 36) and 8th to 11th centuries (Hadad 2005: Pl. 26. 504, 525). Fragments from other vessel shapes also support an Early to Middle Islamic dating: two open vessels with an everted neck and slightly thickened rim (Gilmore et al. 1985: Pl. 104. 6, 11; Hadad 2005: Pl. 2. 39, 40, Pl. 27. 544) and two hollow lamp bases (Figure 14d) (Foy 2000: 248-250, figs. 4. 11-15, 6. 19-25, 8; Hadad 2005: Pl. 22. 436-442).

Also the few decorated fragments seems to confirm an Early to Middle Islamic dating: one blue scratched-engraved body sherd (Gorin-Rosen 2023: fig. 3.2, 4, 5; Hadad 2005: 38), one relief-cut colorless fragment (Figure 14e) (Carboni 2001: 82-88, no. 19, 2.11, 2.12; Kröger 1995: no. 195, 197, 202, 220, 221, 223), one mold-blown and pinch-decorated base (Katsnelson 2014: 42-43, fig. 10.1; Kröger 1995: 119), and three tonged-impressed fragments, including a beaker (Figure 14f, g). This last decorative technique is distinctive of the 8th-10th centuries AD and was widespread in Egypt, Levant and Mesopotamia (Gilmore et al. 1985: Pl. 104. 13; Gorin-Rosen 2010: 242-245; Hadad 2005: 37, Pl. 31-32. 608-649; O'Hea 2003: fig. 3.7-8; Pinder-Wilson & Scanlon 1987: fig. 10, 11; Pollak 2003: fig. 1.15; Shindo 2009: 309, fig. 2d).

This assemblage provides a homogeneous chronological range that will be sharpened thanks to ongoing Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry analysis (LA-ICP-MS).

### 3.3.c. Other material

In addition to the dominant pottery sherds and glass fragments, the survey yielded a variety of other artifacts. Notably, a fragment of silver coin was discovered. After restoration, it was possible to identify the coin as a dirham minted during the reign of Al-Mansur, the second Abbasid caliph (754-775 AD) (Figure 14h).

The surface material assemblage also included 47 stone objects (3 beads and 44 fragments of worked stones), 4 seashell fragments, 2 ostrich eggshell fragments, 1 coin and 4 undetermined metal items. However, none of them can be dated, being either too poorly preserved (stone and metal artifacts) or not being characteristic enough (shell fragments) to be dated.

## 4. DISCUSSION

### 4.1. DATING HYPOTHESIS

Although absolute dating is still in progress, several pieces of evidence point towards the Early-Middle Islamic periods as the construction timeframe for the qanats.

First of all, developing such an impressive waterscape, with qanats up to 8 km long (22 km if we cumulate all the branches) and a total of 91.5 km cumulated of visible lines of shafts, was labor-intensive, and they would have irrigated a very large garden zone. This suggests that the qanats were associated with a major site of urban size. South of the al-'Ula valley, Qurh is the only large settlement and it was probably abandoned in the 12th/13th centuries AD (Power 2012: 120). Moreover, Arabic sources state that the Wadi al-Qura, the 'valley of villages', was characterized by only one main city surrounded by a flourishing oasis.

Furthermore, the easternmost qanats documented through the UCOP survey are heading towards the city of Qurh, suggesting that at least a part of this hydraulic network supplied water to the immediate vicinity of the city. It would be worth checking whether the town itself may have been supplied with water by one of these qanats.

The gardens of Mughairah were established during the second half of the 20th century according to the imagery (CORONA 1965, 1972). It is also clear that these new gardens were superimposed on the existing qanat network. This suggests the qanats were out of use by the time these gardens were created.

The advanced state of erosion and silting observed in the qanats' accesses suggests a long-standing abandonment and neglect, which would correspond to what we know about the occupation of Qurh. A large proportion of the recorded shafts are totally eroded and almost invisible on the ground, being detectable only as spots on archive imagery.

Finally, the material collected along the qanats, mainly pottery sherds and glass fragments, dates almost exclusively from the 7th/8th to 10th/11th centuries AD. This timeframe aligns partly with the known occupation period of Qurh. A repartition map shows a higher concentration of material near the city, especially along a canal recorded at the end of qanat OS_19680.

Pending absolute dating for the qanats as well as for the associated archaeological structures, relating the studied waterscape exclusively to the period of existence of the city of Qurh remains a hypothesis. However, and even though a later use, or re-use, of the qanats cannot be completely ruled out, the absence of material dating from after the 10th/11th centuries AD in association with the investigated structures seems to corroborate this hypothesis.

### 4.2. WATER RESOURCES TAPPED BY THE QANATS

Qanats can tap various underground water resources such as aquifers, the shallow water table from alluvial fans or wadi underflows (Cremaschi et al. 2018: 124; Charbonnier
2015: 2). The origin of the water feeding a qanat can be partly deduced from the location of its mother well, however its depth is a decisive factor to determine whether they tapped deep water tables or shallow alluvial flows.

The qanats supplying Qurḥ are composed of many branches coming from the mountain slopes and converging in the valley (Figure 4). To the west, at least three lines of shafts are visibly situated over an alluvial fan. Additionally, two lines are found near small wadi outlets to the valley. To the east, a dune area prevents the identification of the upstream parts of the qanats and thus of their mother well. A large sabkha, located north of the area, where strong deflation occurs, also participates in fragmenting our perception of the qanat network (Figure 3). However, we observe a general trend of qanats (OS_19680 and OS_19679, Figure 8) coming from the wide tributary valley located to the north, through the sabkha (Figure 3), and joining the al-ʻUlā wadi valley. Since the Saq aquifer boundaries is located north of this tributary valley (Seraphin et al. 2022: 5759; Toumi et al. 2015: 3), it is likely that the mother wells tap water from this source.

Western qanats (OS_19683 and OS_19693) tap the alluvial fans at the outlet of tributary wadis emerging

from the mountains and bordering the plain to the west (Figure 15). While their mother wells should be located at the apex of the alluvial fans, they could not be identified with certainty as the area is now very disturbed by modern infrastructure.

The qanats located in the center of the plain (OS_19681 and part of OS_19680) could drain their water from both the Saq aquifer and shallow underground flows, as the Saq limit would be around the south of the al-ʻUlā palm grove and the end of the Saq sandstone formation (Seraphin et al. 2022: 5759; Toumi et al. 2015: 3) (Figures 3 and 4). Downstream of the valley, water from the aquifer, as it reaches its boundaries, flows through underground shallower formations toward the southwest, following the same orientation than the wadi channels at the surface (UN-ESCWA & BGR 2013: 299; Toumi et al. 2015: 3, WAO Project – oral communication). Those underground flows, although not well known so far, could also constitute water resources to supply the qanats along their way. These water flows are not per se the Saq aquifer but they would still be a rather perennial resource as the water comes from a threshold effect at the border of the aquifer and does not only depend on rainfall.

<figure><img src="image_18.png" /><figcaption>**Figure 15** Qanats tapping an alluvial fan to the west of the plain of Qurḥ (GIS: M. Le Doaré; Archaios-UCOP).</figcaption></figure>
## CONCLUSION

This study has significantly advanced our knowledge of Early-Middle Islamic qanats, producing the most complete map of this type of water systems in northwestern Arabia. Photo-interpretation and remote sensing played a crucial role, as they have enabled us to understand the full extent of this waterscape and to speed up field survey. They also enabled to reconstruct missing network sections using archive images.

Until now, the source of Qurḥ water supply remained unknown. Several pieces of evidence lead us to believe that these qanats were irrigating the oasis of Qurḥ. They are located in the city's immediate vicinity and no other large settlement is attested in this area. Furthermore, their state of preservation also suggests a long period of abandonment. Finally, this hypothesis is further supported by the archaeological material collected along these structures. The construction and/or operation of the latter can be thus dated from the Early to Middle Islamic period, although it is not yet possible to say precisely when this network was set up during this time interval. It is also clear that the qanats were abandoned after that period. Indeed, only a very small proportion of the material collected has not been dated to after the 10th/11th centuries AD, and the barren landscape of the south area contains very few traces of more recent occupation. All the evidence suggests that it probably remained unoccupied after the abandonment of Qurḥ and until the establishment of Mughairah palm grove.

Our study suggests a gradual surface emergence of the qanats, i.e. that their outlets were staggered from upstream to downstream, and were thus irrigating an area estimated to be about 7.5 km long from north to south. Indeed, some qanats to the east seem to emerge northwest of Qurḥ, as demonstrated by the discovery of the open channel OS_11250 that was probably qanat fed. On the contrary, other qanats continue their way much further south as shown by the identification of shafts south of the modern Mughairah gardens.

Several water resources were visibly exploited, the location of the most upstream shafts suggests that the source for most of them was an alluvial aquifer itself linked to the Saq aquifer, while to the west of the plain, at the foot of the mountains, two qanats originate from alluvial fans and were fed by wadi underflow.

Now that field data acquisition is complete and we have a good understanding of their spatial organization, the dating of these structures remains to be confirmed and refined. Following the survey, soundings were realized in seven qanat shafts aiming at collecting sediment samples for OSL dating in the digging and maintenance layers located in the doughnut. Furthermore, we intend to date some samples of carbonate concretions collected on top of the shafts with uranium-thorium analyses. The absolute dating of various structures, coupled with

spatial analyses, will help understanding the progressive development of the network, which is the next step in our study.

By clarifying the chronology of this waterscape, these absolute dates should also enable us to understand whether potential drying out of the qanats may have led to the rapid abandonment of Qurḥ.

## DATA ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT

All relevant data are within the manuscript.

## NOTES

1. A qanat section refers to a part of a qanat that can be traced for a certain distance without a break.

2. This count excludes walls recorded as part of archaeological sites that may have similar functions. These will be addressed below.

3. Recorded sites consist of clusters of stone walls and structures that appear to form a coherent whole.

## ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We would like to express our gratitude to H.E. Jean-Yves Le Drian, Dr. Ingrid Périssé, Margaux Bodart, Laura Kwiatowski, and Mathias Curnier, from AFALULA, as well as to Abeer Al-Akel, Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Suhaibani, Dr. Rebecca Foote, Dr. Laura Morabito, Christelle Aoude, Mohamed Mehaina, Jonathan Wilson, and Christopher Collins, from RCU, for their unwavering support to the project. We also would like to thank the French Embassy in Saudi Arabia, especially H.E. Ludovic Pouille and Dr. Catherine Le Thomas. Finally, we are very grateful to all UCOP team members and Archaios logistics and administrative staff who have contributed to the project since its beginning.

## FUNDING INFORMATION

APCs are covered by the UmWeltWandel research group.

## COMPETING INTERESTS

The authors have no competing interests to declare.

## AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS

Alexia Rosak has written the sections concerning the historical context of the study, the field survey (methodology and results), and has contributed to the discussion.
Maureen Le Doaré was in charge of writing the sections about the remote sensing survey (methodology and results) and the geomorphological study (environmental context and water resources). She has also reviewed the results of the field survey and has contributed to the discussion section.

Julien Charbonnier has contributed to the writing of the introduction and of the discussion section. He has reviewed and revised the entire article and has provided final approval.

Maria Paola Pellegrino and Francelin Tourtet have written the sections which concern the ceramic material (methodology and results) and have revised the sections about the glassware (methodology and results).

Cassandra Furstos has written the sections about glass material (methodology and results).

Yasmin Kanhoush has reviewed and revised the entire article and has provided final approval.

## AUTHOR AFFILIATIONS

**Alexia Rosak** [ID] orcid.org/0000-0002-8246-3564

Archaeologist, PhD student, Université de Paris 1-Panthéon Sorbonne, UMR 8167, Archaios, Paris, France

**Maureen Le Doaré** [ID] orcid.org/0000-0002-9335-8671

Geographer, Archaios, Paris, France

**Julien Charbonnier** [ID] orcid.org/0000-0003-3172-6237

Project director (UCOP), Archaios, Paris, France

**Cassandra Furstos** [ID] orcid.org/0000-0003-1598-7066

Assistant archaeological material supervisor (UCOP), glass expert, Archaios, Paris, France

**Maria Paola Pellegrino** [ID] orcid.org/0000-0001-6489-3328

Archaeological material supervisor (UCOP), Ceramologist expert, Archaios, Paris, France

**Francelin Tourtet** [ID] orcid.org/0000-0002-7142-2580

Ceramologist expert, Freie Universität Berlin – Archaios, Berlin, Germany

**Yasmin Kanhoush** [ID] orcid.org/0000-0003-1377-5035

Deputy director (UCOP), Archaios, Paris, France

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**TO CITE THIS ARTICLE:**

Rosak, A, Le Doaré, M, Charbonnier, J, Furstos, C, Pellegrino, MP, Tourtet, F and Kanhoush, Y. 2025. An Early-Middle Islamic Waterscape in the Hejaz? A Newly Discovered Qanat Network in the Vicinity of Qurḥ (al-Mabiyāt). *Open Quaternary*, 11: 5, pp.1–22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/oq.140

**Submitted:** 31 May 2024

**Accepted:** 19 October 2024

**Published:** 26 February 2025

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