Nasser Talebbeydokhti, B.Hooshyari
Department of Civil Engineering
Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran
E-mail: taleb@succ.shirazu.ac.ir

Uneven spatial and temporal distribution of precipitation, high rate of evaporation, arid and semi-arid climate, evaporative geological formations such as gypsum and salt domes in southern as well as desert areas of Iran make it impossible to maintain the surface and ground water supply. The only means to harvest water is century-old system called „abanbar". The main objective of this paper is to investigate abanbars as a traditional method of water harvesting. I will discuss architectural, structural, geo-technical, hydrological, and hydraulic aspects of various types of abanbars and methods of constructing and maintaining them.