Qanāt(s) in Al-Andalus

Abstract

The two most recent studies of the qanāt technique (the obtainment of subterranean water by means of underground drainages channels), and the widespread diffusion of the technique coincide in an extraordinarily precise description of the expansion of the technique in al-Andalus. The availability of only one monographic study (that of J. Oliver Asin on Madrid, 1952), and a certain amount of information about water «mines» in Catalonia obliged both J. Humlum (1965) and H. Goblet (1979) to be prudently concise. Nevertheless, despite the limited documental and archeological evidence available, they appeared to be convinced that al-Andalus had been a zone of diffusion of the qanāt technique. T.F. Glick (1970 and 1979), without adding any significant new information as proof, ventures to refer to hydraulic exploitation as a specific and fundamental part of the social fabric in the history of al- Andalus. It appears, moreover, that the technique was conveyed from al-Andalus to the hawz of Marrakush round about 501/1107, when the almoravit 'Amir 'Ali b. Yüsuf commissioned the Andalusian engineer, 'Abd Alla b. Yunus to design the hydraulic network for the zone, according to a text by Al-Idrisi. However, P. Pascon (1977) points out that the technique was practised a long time previous throughout the Western Sahara, and that it is unlikely that 'Abd Allah could have introduced it, bearing in mind that it was already known. A major original contribution is the inclusion of two III/IX and V/XI century Arab texts, which provide conclusive proof that the qanāt technique was known in al-Andalus in 136/753-754, and that it was used by Arab qawm(s) (clans), and possibly also by the Berbers shortly afterwards. They also revealed the existence of three technical terms to identify the same process of collection of subterranean water: qanāt, khattāra (in a hypothetical reading of a text) and majrā. In fact, it has also been proved that in the best description of the construction of a qanāt available until the present (Ibn Hayyan's V/XI century text) no specific vocabulary is introduced to refer to the construction of underground channels except, of course, the word tunnel or gallery (surüb).
These writings also seem to confirm the author's 1980 hypothesis, that the place-name Qanit, documented at Cordoba, near Ronda and in Mallorca, is a form of qanāt, modified by the imāla, or excessive palatization of the vocal sound. Evidence of the existence of collection galleries at Cañete la Real and Canet (Mallorca), together with their almost certain existence at Cañete de las Torres, has been fundamental to the contribution of research with a certain degree of confidence. It should be pointed out, however, that it has been demostrated that the terms qanāt and khattāra could also signify canal and well, respectively, in the eastern part of al-Andalus; therefore, it should be taken into account that place-names derived from qanāt or khattāra do not necessarily indicate the existence of subterranean water. Finally, mention is made of the question of water «mines» in Southern France and Catalonia; and exploration of the «canets» situated between Fréjus and the Maresme is recommended.