In the ancient city of Girsu, located in the south of modern Iraq, Sumerians built a device over a water channel to save themselves from drought four thousand years ago. This was reported by Arkeonews.
Girsu residents relied on an advanced irrigation system that diverted water from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers into canals that irrigated agricultural areas. But a period of severe drought put their lives in danger, and the ancient Sumerians tried to save themselves with the help of engineering.
Scientists from the British Museum used a drone to examine the village of Nasr and discovered an ancient drought protection device in a 19 kilometer long canal. It also claims to be the oldest bridge in the world because it crosses a body of water.
The device is a ditch used to distribute water to remote locations for agriculture. It was probably built by the last generations of people living in Girsu trying to save their city from drought: stone tablets found here speak of “the water crisis and the last desperate attempt to escape”.
Interestingly, the ancient Sumerians probably used the Venturi effect – a decrease in pressure and an increase in the speed of water passing through a narrow pipe. It was previously thought that this effect began to be used in technology only in the 18th century.
Previously in Tanzania discovered strange images of people with huge heads.