Examples of Ancient Hydraulics
You may think of hydraulic technology as an invention of the industrial revolution, but it was actually used thousands of years ago by various ancient empires across the world. Read on for examples of ancient hydraulics, and if you are in need of an Hydraulic Power Unit, visit www.hydraproducts.co.uk.
Irrigation in Mesopotamia and Egypt
The first evidence of hydraulic technology is from the Mesopotamian and Ancient Egypt empires. They used an irrigation system now referred to as ‘basin irrigation’ in order to keep their crops watered through the growing season. It used the flooding of the Nile to help fertile sediment settle, and then return the water to where it was originally. Another device they created was the ‘water clock’. This measured time by the regulated flow of liquid into a vessel. Ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamian had similar methods of measuring using a water clock.
The Persian Empire’s hydraulic engineering
The Persian Empire also used hydraulic technology by constructing complex tunnels into basins of mountains in order to extract groundwater. Due to their elaborate irrigation systems, early Persian farmers were successful despite long periods without rain. Referred to as ‘a masterpiece of creative genius’ and declared a world heritage site by UNESCO, the early Persian empire created a legendary piece of technology called the Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System.
Water power in ancient China
Lastly, ancient Chinese civilisation along with other ancient Asian civilisations depended on waterpower and developed a water wheel. Zhang Hend is the first person we know of that applied hydraulic motive power in order to rotate an armillary sphere.
It is incredible to know that hydraulic technology has been around for so long, and there are a number of other ancient civilizations who used this type of power, especially for irrigation of crops.
Summary
Hydraulic technology dates back thousands of years, long before the industrial revolution, with early evidence from Mesopotamian and Egyptian basin irrigation systems that used Nile floodwaters and water clocks to measure time. The Persian Empire built complex tunnels to extract groundwater, creating the Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System, now a UNESCO world heritage site. Ancient Chinese civilisation developed the water wheel, with Zhang Heng credited as an early pioneer of hydraulic motive power.
Questions this article raises
- How accurate were ancient water clocks at measuring time?
- What made the Shushtar system a UNESCO world heritage site?
- How did ancient irrigation systems compare to modern ones?
