The ruins look still. The sediment does not. Layer by layer, reservoir cores can record flood pulses, neglect, dredging, and changes in land use around an ancient city.
Water as Evidence
Ancient infrastructure is sometimes described as adaptation, but that word can flatten politics. Who maintained the reservoirs? Who received water first? Which neighborhoods were abandoned?
The New Toolkit
Drone photogrammetry can reveal subtle channels and basins. Sediment chemistry can indicate erosion and organic input. Old excavation notes can anchor new maps to known structures.
The Survival Story
The point is not that ancient cities solved climate stress. It is that infrastructure shaped which stresses became crises.
