Yet to get a different story, you need to read stuff like SALT, the history of that needed item, or what I am reading (slowly since it has a lot of new information for me) : Elixir, by Brian Fagan, about irrigation systems that kept the world alive.
So, I wondered, how did the Hittites keep a huge empire alive in a dry land where there is no water?
he dam was ordered by Hittite King Tudhaliya IV in the name of goddess Hepat, according to ancient Hittite tablets, he said. After a drought Anatolia suffered in 1200 B.C., Tudhaliya IV imported wheat from Egypt so that his subjects would not suffer a famine. Following this, the king ordered numerous dams to be built in central Anatolia, in 1240 B.C. All but one of them became dysfunctional over time. The one in Alacahöyük has survived because the water source is located inside the dam's reservoir, he explained.
Çınaroğlu said the construction technique used in building the dam was similar to those of today but that the stone blocks forming the dam were joined with clay instead of cement.
The Hittites used the dam to provide both irrigation and tap water, said Çınaroğlu, adding: In ancient times, tap water from this dam was collected in a separate pool, and after filtering, the water was carried to the city center two kilometers away. Canals built based on the water's flow astonished us.
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