The social dimensions of water management at Petra, Jordan

The vast majority of scholarship on the water management systems of ancient Petra has focused exclusively on its built elements. While this work has contributed greatly to our understanding of the technological dimensions of infrastructure and its ability to harness a limited water supply in a semi-arid region, little is known about the social dimensions of infrastructural use and the institutions that operated in conjunction with the physical water infrastructure. Such a lacuna ultimately limits analysis to where physical infrastructure is extant and ignores the myriad other ways in which communities access and manage water. To address these issues, this paper reviews available sources and contextualizes them within broader archaeological, anthropological and ethnographic research focused on water management systems and infrastructure.