Due to its low rainfall and high temperatures, the Sahara Desert is often considered one of the most extreme and least habitable environments on Earth. However, the ancient inhabitants of this inhospitable area, the Garamantes, found an amazing way of survival that allowed them to thrive in the Sahara for almost a millennium.
Although the Sahara periodically became much greener in the distant past, an ancient society living in a climate very similar to today found a way to extract water from the seemingly dry Sahara. The Garamantes lived in the southwestern Libyan desert from 400 BC. to 400 AD in almost the same hyper-arid conditions that exist there today, and were the first society to settle in a desert where there were no rivers.
New research presented at the Geological Society of America's GSA Connects 2023 meeting reveals how the Garamantian Empire extracted underground water and sustained its society until water supplies ran dry.
The Garamantes lived in harsh conditions similar to those we see in the Sahara today. In the absence of permanent rivers and lakes with surface water, they developed a unique technology (“foggara” or “rope”). This method involved digging slightly inclined tunnels into the hillsides, just below the water table. Groundwater then flowed through these tunnels into irrigation systems.
Surprisingly, the Garamantes dug a total of 750 kilometers of underground tunnels and vertical shafts to collect groundwater. The greatest construction activity occurred between 100 BC. and 100 AD This system allowed them to extract water from huge aquifers in the sandstone, which the researchers say is potentially one of the largest aquifers in the world.
A more humid climate, suitable topography and unique conditions for groundwater allowed the Garamantes to successfully use foggar technology. However, the groundwater level began to decline, which ultimately led to the decline of the Garamantian Empire.
The study by Professor Frank Schwartz of Ohio State University is particularly troubling in light of current environmental issues. Extreme conditions similar to those experienced by the Garamantes are becoming increasingly common around the world, and unsustainable use of groundwater threatens many societies.
Therefore, the Garamantes serve as an important warning to us about the power of groundwater as a resource and the dangers of its overuse.