Contribution of architectural design of ancient city Dara’s water cisterns to the water efficiency of the city

Abstract

Drought and difficulty in accessing to water is one of the problems encountered by
Mesopotamia region for centuries. Insufficiency of the water resources has brought forth
the need of storing water and necessitated the construction of the cisterns in this region
in the past. Application of the correct design techniques in the architectural design of the
cisterns shall provide saving in storing, transporting and transferring the water. Within
this context, starting with the fact that the cisterns have a significant place within the
immovable culture heritage of Mesopotamia region, the aim of this study to determine
the contribution of architectural and technical design of water cisterns of ancient city
Dara to the water efficiency of the city in the past. Within the scope of the study, it is
adopted to conduct literature review, to identify the cisterns on-site, and to document
the current statuses of them via photographs as method. Within the scope of the study,
it is seen that the design of the cisterns is shaped according to the topography and the
working principle is coincided with the principle of computational fluid exactly. It is
determined that this system provided great saving in storing, transporting and
transferring the water in Mesopotamia region, where it is necessary to use the water in
the most efficient manner.