Historical water, drainage, and wastewater technologies in Crete

Nagref, Greece

The Aegean islands and Crete have been characterized by limited and often inadequate natural water resources. NAGREF provided a description of the historical water and waster water technologies in Crete, where urban hydraulic systems were first applied during the Bronze Age (ca. 3500-1200 BC). The Cretan technologies were subsequently further developed in the Greek Mainland to become a part of the cultural heritage of the Greek and Roman Civilizations and of the foundation of modern water engineering and management.

In crete aqueducts and cisterns were among the most important water conveyance and storage technologies. Crete also has the earliest example of a sewer dating to the middle of the 3rd millennium (Early Minoan IIA) from a house under the west court of the Palace at Knossos. This evolution of water management also included various areas of water resources such as water abstraction, water transportation, water storage, water distribution, construction and use of fountains, and even recreational uses of water.