Investigation of water supply network and water distribution system in the Islamic period(Case study of Sonqor city)

In the present research, the traditional water system and the way of obtaining and exploiting water resources in the past have been studied. To verify the existence of this traditional system in this city, archival documents, which had a significant impact on our understanding of urban development and the water supply network, were referred to. It is the commencement of our understanding of how to use traditional canals and waterways, the signs of which can be recognized in the ancient context. Consequently, the key question was raised as follows: what effects did the water supply network and the traditional water system have on the formation of the spatial organization? In response to this question, this hypothesis was shaped that it seems that the water supply and water distribution network in the city of Sonqor affected the formation and cohesion of neighborhoods from the middle Islamic period onwards.

The current research is applied research regarding the purpose of the research method, the data collection method is a case study, and the non-contact method of electromagnetism method has been subjected to a field survey. This method was used to determine the movement of water underground and to locate and prove the existence of springs and alluviums. The determined points of springs and canals as the studied community have been evaluated in a descriptive and non-experimental format. Collecting information from library and field methods and in a non-experimental descriptive format based on documents and ancient evidence, springs, aqueducts and reservoirs were located and identified on the maps using the analytical-descriptive method.

According to soundings done on the identification points of the springs outside the city, which were checked within a radius of 2 km from the city, the slope of the water flow of the springs and canals along the canal, waterways and streams based on the roughness and height position in the depth of the ground or the ground surface was calculated and measured based on the height of a place above the sea level. The result was that on the eastern side of Danesh Sara and Shah Murad Kariz; on the north side of the Chaman Pashm kariz; and on the western side with Malik kariz and Dara Maleh valleys, the depth of the water flow in the ground is between 3 and 7 meters. Underground water flows from the north of the city to the south of the city, with the slope of the land between 1.5% and 2% of natural alluvium and the water of springs and canals to the lower parts of the city. On the east side of the city, water flows downstream from the Daneshsara aqueduct with a slope of 2%, in the center of the city with a slope of 1.68%, and on the west side of the city with a slope of 1.5%. This procedure can be proven in the vicinity of the northern aqueducts compared to the southern aqueducts and in comparison to the height above sea level. Out of the total number of springs and aqueducts in Sonqor city, 17 points were identified and investigated, out of which 6 points had ancient remnants, and the rest of the studied community were located in the urban context.

From the geology and natural geography point of view and according to the field and non-contact EM investigations, the collected information designates that the city of Sonqor was built on alluvial layers. These alluvial layers have changed the earth's surface water path over millions of years. This change has caused the alluviums in the northeast to be higher than the alluviums downstream in the south and southwest. Water appears at fewer than 5 meters on the alluvial layers and is easily accessibleto the early inhabitants. Man can build his residence near natural springs by relying on communication and interaction with nature.Consequently, in response to the research question, it can be said that when the city of Sonqor was formed, the most important component that was taken into account was the natural springs that appeared on the alluvial layers in the city of Sonqor. Water harvesting from this spring was done easily. The spatial organization and architecture of Sonqor city are also formed according to the concentration and locational focus of the springs.