A joint research team from the College of Archaeology at Al-Qadisiyah University, the General Authority for Antiquities and Heritage, and the University of Newcastle, UK, conducted a study for the first time in Iraq on ancient irrigation systems in the Western Iraqi Desert.

The team from Al-Qadisiyah University included Assistant Professor Dr. Rajwan Faisal Al-Mayali, Professor Dr. Jaafar Al-Jawdhari, Assistant Lecturer Abdul Amir Al-Jubouri, and Researcher Mustafa Al-Hamza. From Newcastle University, it included Dr. Louisa Ryan, and from the General Authority for Antiquities and Heritage, Researcher Ali Rahim Al-Jubouri (a visiting researcher at Newcastle University).

The research, which was published as a book chapter by Archipres (a respected international publishing house accredited by Scopus and Clarivate), included a satellite imagery survey and field investigation of springs, natural oases, irrigation canals, and karezes used for irrigation during the Sassanid and Islamic eras.

This activity comes as part of the College of Archaeology’s efforts to build bridges of scientific and research cooperation with prestigious international universities, as well as cooperation with the General Authority for Antiquities and Heritage.