Hydrogeology and Water Management in Ancient Hydraulic Systems
A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Hydrogeology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2026 | Viewed by 15
Special Issue Editors
Interests: hydrogeology; groundwater; water resources management; alluvial aquifer; hydrological monitoring; time series analysis; numerical modeling; MODFLOW; groundwater exploitation
Interests: karst hydrogeology; landslide; geohydrology; extreme events; climate change
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Since humans began living in communities and cultivating the land, accessing and managing good quality water has been a key factor in the socio-economic development of populations. Sumerians, ancient Egyptians, and the populations of Indus Valley are the oldest populations that created the first aqueduct systems. Remains of ancient aqueducts carved into rock have also been found in Phoenicia and Palestine. However, it was during the 2nd millennium BC that the technique of underground aqueducts was transmitted from the East to the Mediterranean basin, as confirmed by the remains of terracotta pipes, cemented with lime, belonging to the Minoan civilisation. Also, numerous aqueducts were built in Greece and Magna Graecia. However, it was the Romans who transformed the ancient “invention” of the aqueduct into a great masonry work serving urban settlements. The Caput Aquae of these impressive engineering works consisted of powerful springs located in mountainous areas, from which large quantities of high-quality water could be drawn, thus enabling the economic and demographic growth of cities and, consequently, populations. The plano-altimetric development of the routes of these long aqueducts was based on engineering considerations of hydraulic and hydrogeological factors. These were the key factors involved in the transfer of water by gravity to the Castellum Aquae near urban areas. In the Mediterranean area, there are numerous examples of large Roman aqueducts that functioned for centuries—in some cases, even until recent historical times—many of which are in an exceptional state of preservation. In other cases, however, these aqueducts were destroyed after the fall of the Roman Empire.
The aim of this Special Issue is to collect original research and review articles dealing with the study of ancient aqueducts in order to understand the geological, hydrological, hydrogeological, technical, and economic reasons that affected the overall design of these aqueducts.
Studies highlighting relationships between ancient and current groundwater management are welcome, as well as studies referring to current distribution and usage issues related to increasing urbanization, economic development, and water shortages due to climate change.
Dr. Libera Esposito
Prof. Dr. Francesco Fiorillo
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- ancient aqueducts
- hydrogeology
- water management
- water supply
- climate change
- Greek
- Roman
- Sumerian
- Egyptians
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
