Water and Soil from the Desert: Some Ancient Agricultural Achievements in the Central Negev

IN connection with G. W. Murray's article on water storage and exploitation in ancient Egypt,1 it may prove useful to record what was achieved in this field in yet another arid region and in a different historical period.2 The central Negev lies beyond the settled land of Israel, between the steppe to the north, and the desert region of the south (see map). During the time that elapsed between the second century B.c. and the seventh century a.d., this region, which forms one morphotectonic and climatic unit with