Ancient Urban Stormwater Drainage Systems

Since the first successful efforts to control the flow of water by the Egyptians and the Mesopotanians thousands of years ago, a very rich history of hydraulics has evolved. The first successful efforts to control the flow of water were probably made in Mesopotamia and Egypt, where the remains of the prehistoric irrigation works still exist.

The use of drainage systems by humans has a long history dating back to the early third millennium B. C. during the Indus civilization. Not far behind were the Mesopotamians (Adams, 1981). The Minoan civilization on Crete, in the second millenium B.C. also had extensive drainage systems. Knossos, approximately 5 kilometers from Herakleion, the modern capital of Crete, was one of the most ancient and most unique cities of the Aegean and of Europe.

The drainage systems at Knossos were most interesting, consisting of two separate systems, one to collect the sewage and the other to collect rain water (see Figs. 1.1a-c). After the collapse of the Minoan civilization and before the Greek influence, which was roughly from 1100 to 700 B.C., there was disarray in the Aegean society. The use of drains were fairly extensive in Minoan palaces and later their use was rediscovered by the Greeks, as they started living in settlements.

Figure 1.1: Drainage system at Knossos. (Photos by L. W. Mays)

Community drainage...