Over thousands of years, the eastern part of the Mediterranean has developed ways to supply and manage its water resources. The most important evidence of this is the water networks that are distributed in the area. Case studies involving a literature review, fieldwork, sample collection and analysis were conducted that focused on two areas in the West Bank: Nablus city and the northern part of Jordan Valley. These locations were chosen because Nablus city and its vicinity have many of Roman tunnels and aqueducts while the Jordan Valley has many watermills. This study aims to examine the changes in water quality over time in various ways; in an attempt to explain environmental degradation, to understand archeological aspects relating to the water management system, and to piece together what sustained the past environmental development. Throughout centuries carbonate deposits have accumulated along the sidewalls of the water system, containing and archiving geochemical and hydraulic information. These carbonate deposits were sampled from the walls of tunnels together with water samples from the tunnel and surrounding springs in the area. In addition, carbonate sinter has accumulated at the outlet of the watermill on the water shaft. This sinter was also sampled along with water samples from the springs and the water in the Wadi in the area. Water and carbonate samples were analyzed. Water analysis included major cations and anions, trace elements, rare earth elements, 18O/16O isotope ratio, and 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratio. Results indicate the presence of different underground water bodies and Sr resources. Furthermore, thin sections were made from the carbonate samples for SEM–EDX analyses and microscopic investigations. The microscope analysis showed that the distribution of minerals precipitated differs within one sample. Likewise, SEM–EDX results show a variation in element distribution along the growth axis. After finishing the analysis of water samples and thin sections, the layers of the carbonate samples were acidified and trace elements and rare earth elements were measured by means of ICP–MS. Then selected layers were prepared for isotope analyses (18O, 13C, and 87Sr/86Sr) and subsequently measured. The carbonate samples were dated using the U–Th method. Rare earth elements and trace elements measurements provide clear evidence that urbanization has an adverse effect on groundwater quality. Different groundwater bodies were identified by means of geochemical analysis. In the same way, the water sources used to feed the ancient water system were also identified. Through petrological and geochemical analysis, the sustainability of the watermill concept could be demonstrated. This study recommends a more controlled regulation of urbanization expansion. It will only be possible to continue living in this region with sufficient amounts of groundwater and innovative techniques for water supply and management that are environmentally sustainable, as it used to be centuries ago.

Over thousands of years, the eastern part of the Mediterranean has developed ways to supply and manage its water resources. The most important evidence of this is the water networks that are distributed in the area. Case studies involving a literature review, fieldwork, sample collection and analysis were conducted that focused on two areas in the West Bank: Nablus city and the northern part of Jordan Valley. These locations were chosen because Nablus city and its vicinity have many of Roman tunnels and aqueducts while the Jordan Valley has many watermills. This study aims to examine the changes in water quality over time in various ways; in an attempt to explain environmental degradation, to understand archeological aspects relating to the water management system, and to piece together what sustained the past environmental development. Throughout centuries carbonate deposits have accumulated along the sidewalls of the water system, containing and archiving geochemical and hydraulic information. These carbonate deposits were sampled from the walls of tunnels together with water samples from the tunnel and surrounding springs in the area. In addition, carbonate sinter has accumulated at the outlet of the watermill on the water shaft. This sinter was also sampled along with water samples from the springs and the water in the Wadi in the area. Water and carbonate samples were analyzed. Water analysis included major cations and anions, trace elements, rare earth elements, 18O/16O isotope ratio, and 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratio. Results indicate the presence of different underground water bodies and Sr resources. Furthermore, thin sections were made from the carbonate samples for SEM–EDX analyses and microscopic investigations. The microscope analysis showed that the distribution of minerals precipitated differs within one sample. Likewise, SEM–EDX results show a variation in element distribution along the growth axis. After finishing the analysis of water samples and thin sections, the layers of the carbonate samples were acidified and trace elements and rare earth elements were measured by means of ICP–MS. Then selected layers were prepared for isotope analyses (18O, 13C, and 87Sr/86Sr) and subsequently measured. The carbonate samples were dated using the U–Th method. Rare earth elements and trace elements measurements provide clear evidence that urbanization has an adverse effect on groundwater quality. Different groundwater bodies were identified by means of geochemical analysis. In the same way, the water sources used to feed the ancient water system were also identified. Through petrological and geochemical analysis, the sustainability of the watermill concept could be demonstrated. This study recommends a more controlled regulation of urbanization expansion. It will only be possible to continue living in this region with sufficient amounts of groundwater and innovative techniques for water supply and management that are environmentally sustainable, as it used to be centuries ago.:Declaration V Acknowledgment VI Abstract VIII List of Figures X List of Tables XVI List of Abbreviations XVII Terms and definitions XIX 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Structure of the thesis 1 1.2 General information, background 2 1.2.1 Spiritual value of water in Palestine 2 1.2.2 Water resources and management condition in Palestine 3 1.2.3 Water crisis in Palestine 4 1.3 Motivation 5 1.4 Hypothesis 6 1.5 Location of study area 6 1.5.1 Description of geology and hydrogeology of the study area 8 1.5.2 Climate 13 2. Literature review 18 2.1 Research history of aqueducts 18 2.2 Aqueducts in Palestine 18 2.2.1 Agricultural aqueducts (related to watermills) in Palestine 20 2.3 Utilization of springs in Palestine 21 2.3.1 Ancient water system in Nablus–Sebestia 22 2.4 Carbonate sinter accumulation in aqueducts and artificial water network 24 2.4.1 Research history of secondary carbonate sinter 26 2.4.2 Growth mechanism of secondary carbonate 29 2.4.3 Carbonate sinter analysis 30 3. Methodology 33 3.1 Literature review 33 3.2 Fieldwork 34 3.3 Sampling and analysis 37 3.3.1 Water samples: 37 3.3.2 Carbonate samples 38 3.3.3 U–Th series dating 41 3.4 Software used 43 3.5 Challenges 43 4. Results and discussion (Nablus area) 45 4.1 Ancient water system description 45 4.2 Water sample results and discussion 54 4.2.1 Stable isotope 59 4.2.2 Strontium isotope analysis (87Sr/86Sr) 60 4.2.3 Saturation index 62 4.2.4 Discussion 63 4.3 Carbonate analysis (host rock) 64 4.4 Aqueduct building material 65 4.5 Secondary carbonate analysis 66 4.5.1 Ras Al Ein location (S-2) 66 4.5.2 Ijnisinya location (S-9) 72 4.5.3 Harun Location (S-8) 79 4.5.4 Water tunnel Location (A-1) 86 4.5.5 Water aqueduct Location (A-4) 99 4.6 Discussion 101 4.6.1 Is urbanization a source of groundwater quality degradation? 101 4.6.3 Paleoclimate calculations 105 5. Results and discussion (Al Malih area) 107 5.1 Water system description 107 5.2 Geochemical results (water) 108 5.3 Geochemical results (Carbonate) 111 5.3 Sustainability of watermills 113 6. Conclusions and recommendation 115 6.1 Conclusions 115 6.2 Recommendations 116 6.2.1 Recommendation for further research 116 6.2.2 Recommendation for policy makers 116 References 118