Agricultural Landscapes of Al-Andalus, and the Aftermath of the Feudal Conquest
H. Kirchner, F. Sabaté (eds.)
277 p., 22 b/w ill. + 40 maps (36 b&w, 4 colour), 8 b/w tables, 1 b/w line art, 156 x 234 mm, 2021
ISBN: 978-2-503-59397-5
Languages: English
The publication is available.
Retail price: EUR 80,00 excl. tax
Brings together significant, recent research on agricultural systems in al-Andalus, undertaken from an archaeological perspective, with particular reference to irrigated and drained areas, dry agriculture field systems, and pasturelands.
This volume presents recent archaeological research on the agriculture and society of al-Andalus during the Middle Ages, especially from the perspective of ‘hydraulic archaeology’ — an avenue of research developed by Spanish researchers which focuses on the analysis of irrigation systems created by Islamic colonists from the eighth century onwards. More recently, this research perspective has incorporated the analysis of other agricultural systems, such as dryland agriculture and pasturelands. All of these agricultural regimes are complementary in peasant-led subsistence agricultural systems. From a methodological perspective, this archaeological approach is highly innovative, and uses a wide range of techniques (aerial photography, cartographical analysis, field survey, archival research, and archaeological excavation) in order to outline the size and boundaries of cultivation and grazing areas, to define specific plots of land and the related road networks, and to identify other associated facilities, such as watermills.
In connection with these topics, several issues are discussed: the earmarking of rural or urban farming areas for irrigation, draining, or dryland agriculture; the process of construction and the subsequent evolution of these farming areas; the transformations undergone by these areas after the feudal conquest; and, finally, the identification of pasturelands and the analysis of the evidence concerning their management.
Helena Kirchneris Professor of Medieval History and Archaeology and a member of the research group Agrarian Archaeology of the Middle Ages (2017SGR1073) at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
Flocel Sabbate Curul is a Professor of Medieval History at the University of Lleida.
Table of Contents
Introduction. Research on Irrigation, Drainage, Dry Agriculture and Pastures in Al-Andalus — HELENA KIRCHNERPeasant Irrigation Systems
Agrarian Spaces and the Network of Andalusi Settlements of Manacor (Mallorca) — EUGÈNIA SITJES
Watermills in Ibiza (Balearic Islands): A Documentary and Archaeological Case Study in Santa Eulàlia des Riu — ANTONI FERRER, HELENA KIRCHNER
Morphology of Irrigated Spaces in Late Medieval Mudejar Settlements: The Canal of Lorca (Riba-roja de Turia, Valencia) — ENRIC GUINOTUrban Irrigated Areas
Searching for the Origin: A New Interpretation for the Horta of Valencia in Times of Al-Andalus — FERRAN ESQUILACHE
Drainage and Irrigation Systems in MadīnaṬurṭūša(Tortosa, Spain) (8th-12th Centuries) — HELENA KIRCHNER, ARNALD PUY, ANTONI VIRGILIDry Farming and Pasturelands
On Dry Farming in al-Andalus — FÈLIX RETAMERO
On the Problem of Andalusi Dry Farming: Aialt (Castell de Castells), a Qarya with no Irrigation System in the Mountains of Valencia — JOSEP TORRÓ
Deciphering Islamic Landscape in the Eastern Ebro Valley: Almunias and Livestock — JESÚS BRUFAL
Irrigated Pasturelands in Mountain Ranges in the South-East Of the Iberian Peninsula — ANTONIO MALPICA, SONIA VILLAR, GUILLERMO GARCÍA-CONTRERAS