ICQHS - Terms concerning Qanat Building

» Inauguration of the water museum coincided with the international symposium on Qanat in Yazd [May2000] brought about a situation in which qanat digging equipment could exhibit our cultural legacy partially to remind every individual of the diligence and sustainability of the people once lived here.

History Of Qanat

» Henry Gubler believes that around 800 BC. coal miners in north eastern Iran improvised some canals in order to extract the water from the coal mines. The technology was gradually applied by farmers and spread all over the plateau of Iran. About 525 BC. it reached Oman and Saudi Arabia by Iranians and Persian campaigns conveyed this technology through Egypt about 500 BC.
Qanat was introduced to Africans by Muslims and Yafuga (a Qanat) was created in Madrid by Muslims about 750 BC. The Spanish initiated qanats in Mexico in 1520 AD. From there, it was taken to Los Angeles in 1520 AD. This Hydraulic system was spotted in Chile , too. Creation of qanats in Asia enjoys great antiquity as well.

Terms concerning Qanat Building

Appearance: The place where water comes into view on the surface is called the appearance.

Gallery:
The canal whose section resembles a horseshoe inside the ground enjoying a gentle slope for water conveyance from the aquifer to the appearance.

Dry zone:
A Portion of the gallery between the wet zone and the appearance. This canal is gradually cut deeper due to the decline of the water table.

Wet zone:
It is referred to the infiltrating walls inside the gallery of a Qanat. The discharge rate is directly dependent upon the wet zone.

Pish-kar:
Drilling along the wet zone for having excess to water.

Shaft:
The dry wells situated across the gallery in order to facilitate soil extraction as well as ventilation and dredging. The distance between two shafts was based on the depth of the qanat and the air passage. The nearer the shafts were to the mother well, the deeper they were.

Poshteh:
The distance between two shafts is called poshteh.

Mound:
The soil and sediment extracted from a qanat well, is heaped like a frustum.

Abandoned gallery:
That portion of wet or dry zone of the canal abandoned.

Well curbing:
Inside the shaft curbing is devised 20-30 cm wide and 40-50 cm high to prevent any collapse. Curbing is done near to the mouth, in the middle & close to the gallery. In mouth curbing they use bricks, stone and mortar to Prevent floods, floating sand or every other thing from entering the qanat passage, they block the mouth (on the surface) with brick, stone and mortar this procedure was once called kamar-gir.

Mother well:
The farthest water infiltrating well is called mother well.

Kaf-shekani:
Digging the qanat gallery deeper due to the decline of the aquifer.

BaghalBor (Short cut):
If a portion of the qanat passage is blocked and there is no possibility to unblock it, they deviate that part of the gallery which is called a shortcut (Baghal-Bor).

The water flue of a mill:
this flue is some 5 to 7 meters deep, its mouth diameter is one to two meters but at the bottom it is much narrower which is designed for water to escape, hit and run the mill rotators. This flue should always be full of water.

Dredging:
To remove soil and sediments from the qanat galleries is called dredging.

Edge Cutting:
To widening the qanat passage is called edge cutting.

Qanat limit:
No wells should be dug as far as it may disturb the water table of the mother well.

Shaft limit:
As far as one needs to heap the sediments and the soil extracted, is called the shaft limit.

Canal limit:
Where the gallery is close to the surface, it's limit is up to the spot not damaging the canal due to constructional and agricultural activities.