Canal Mounds as Archives for Human-Environment Interactions in the South Caucasus during Late Antiquity

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

The physical remains of a surviving large-scale canal system found in the landscape of the Mil Steppe in southwestern Azerbaijan were studied by examining a section of canal situated along the Govurarx canal near Ören Qala. Excavation revealed a complex stratigraphy, and mounds formed on its banks enabled the preservation potential of natural and anthropogenic deposits to be assessed. Application of micromorphological and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) techniques to the sediment deposits enabled construction, maintenance, and abandonment phases to be identified. OSL dates revealed that the system had a complex history, with a likely construction date in the 8th century a.d., periods of maintenance and use, but also modification and abandonment over a span approaching 1000 years. A stratigraphic model for the evolution of the canal and correlations with the regional archaeological record are proposed with the aim of understanding the influence of local environmental and socio-political drivers.