CFD Investigations of Water Supply and Distribution Systems of Ancient Old and New World Archaeological Sites to Recover Ancient Water Engineering Technologies

Advanced computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis has uncovered previously unknown depths of ancient water engineering knowledge at UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the Sacred City of Caral-Supe. This groundbreaking approach, using FLOW-3D CFD software, reveals sophisticated hydraulic designs and operational techniques employed by ancient engineers—details that were not recognized in traditional archaeological studies. The research demonstrates that equivalent ancient technologies existed alongside modern methods, though their formats, texts, and origins remain to be discovered. By applying paleohydrology—a fusion of modern hydraulic engineering and computational analysis—to nine archaeological sites (several of which are World Heritage Sites), the study provides new revelations about ancient water systems, adding a critical dimension to our understanding of historical urban and agricultural water infrastructure.

Ortloff, C. R. (2023). CFD Investigations of Water Supply and Distribution Systems of Ancient Old and New World Archaeological Sites to Recover Ancient Water Engineering Technologies. Water, 15(7), 1363. https://doi.org/10.3390/w15071363