06/17/2026
We could all learn a thing or two from the Minoans of Crete when it comes to managing precious resources like our water supplyโฆ.
In 1994, the UN declared June 17th the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, but the importance of managing our natural resources like water have been addressed by humans all over the world for millennia. One example is the Bronze Age Minoans of Pseira, a small island just off the north coast of Crete. Inhabited since the Neolithic period, Pseiraโs climate gradually became drier over the course of the Bronze Age. A lack of above-ground water sources, climate change, and an expanding population prompted the ancient inhabitants of this tiny island to construct a sophisticated water management system consisting of massive dams across the ravines that surrounded their settlement to trap water after rainfall. The large dams were supported by a series of smaller, โinformalโ dams placed at intervals along the ravine, which slowed runoff to the sea. The water that was collected from each of these dams supported the agrarian economy of the island, which consisted of terrace agriculture and animal husbandry. Inhabitation of Pseira continued long past the construction of this water management system at the beginning of the Late Bronze Age, a testament to the success of this communal effort to conserve a vital natural resource.
Read about it here: ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐๐บ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ช๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฏ ๐๐ด๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ๐ข, by Philip P. Betancourt, INSTAP Academic Press, 2012, https://instappress.org/product/dams-and-water-management-systems-of-minoan-pseira/
Learn more about UNESCOโs World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought: https://www.unesco.org/en/days/desertification-drought-combat?hub=180536
