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A noria ( ar, ناعورة, ''nā‘ūra'', plural ''nawāʿīr'', from syr, ܢܥܘܪܐ, ''nā‘orā'', lit. "growler") is a
hydropower Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of ...
ed '' scoop wheel'' used to lift water into a small aqueduct, either for the purpose of
irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...
or to supply water to cities and villages.


Name and meaning


Etymology

The word ''noria'' is derived from Arabic ''nā‘ūra'' (ناعورة), which comes from the Arabic verb meaning to "groan" or "grunt", in reference to the sound it made when turning.


''Noria'' versus ''saqiyah''

The term ''noria'' is commonly used for devices which use the power of moving water to turn the wheel. For devices powered by animals, the usual term is '' saqiyah'' or ''saqiya''. Other types of similar devices are grouped under the name of
chain pump The chain pump is type of a water pump in which several circular discs are positioned on an endless chain. One part of the chain dips into the water, and the chain runs through a tube, slightly bigger than the diameter of the discs. As the chain i ...
s. However, the names of traditional water-raising devices used in the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
and other areas are often used loosely and overlappingly, or vary depending on region.
Al-Jazari Badīʿ az-Zaman Abu l-ʿIzz ibn Ismāʿīl ibn ar-Razāz al-Jazarī (1136–1206, ar, بديع الزمان أَبُ اَلْعِزِ إبْنُ إسْماعِيلِ إبْنُ الرِّزاز الجزري, ) was a polymath: a scholar, ...
's famous book on mechanical devices, for example, groups the water-driven wheel and several other types of water-lifting devices under the general term ''saqiya''. In
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
, by contrast, the term ''noria'' is used for both types of wheels, whether powered by animals or water current.


Function

The noria performs the function of moving water from a lower elevation to a higher elevation, using the energy derived from the flow of a river. It consists of a large, narrow undershot water wheel whose rim is made up of a series of containers or compartments which lift water from the river to an aqueduct at the top of the wheel. Its concept is similar to the modern hydraulic ram, which also uses the power of flowing water to pump some of the water out of the river. Unlike the water wheels found in watermills, a noria does not provide mechanical power to any other process. A few historical norias were hybrids, consisting of waterwheels assisted secondarily by animal power. There is at least one known instance where a noria feeds seawater into a saltern.


History

Paddle-driven water-lifting wheels had appeared in ancient Egypt by the 4th century BC. According to
John Peter Oleson John Peter Oleson (born 1946) is a Canadian classical archaeologist and historian of ancient technology. His main interests are the Roman Near East, maritime archaeology (particularly Roman harbours), and ancient technology, especially hydrauli ...
, both the compartmented wheel and the hydraulic noria appeared in Egypt by the 4th century BC, with the saqiyah being invented there a century later. This is supported by archeological finds in the Faiyum, where the oldest archeological evidence of a
water wheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or buckets ...
has been found, in the form of a saqiyah dating back to the 3rd century BC. A
papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, '' Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to ...
dating to the
2nd century BC The 2nd century BC started the first day of 200 BC and ended the last day of 101 BC. It is considered part of the Classical era, although depending on the region being studied, other terms may be more suitable. It is also considered to be ...
also found in the Faiyum mentions a water wheel used for irrigation, a 2nd-century BC
fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plast ...
found at
Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
depicts a compartmented saqiyah, and the writings of Callixenus of Rhodes mention the use of a saqiyah in the Ptolemaic Kingdom during the reign of Pharaoh Ptolemy IV Philopator in the late 3rd century BC. The undershot water wheel and overshot water wheel, both animal- and water-driven, and with either a compartmented body (
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
''tympanum'') or a compartmented rim, were used by
Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
engineers between the 3rd and 2nd century BC. In 1st century BC, Roman architect
Vitruvius Vitruvius (; c. 80–70 BC – after c. 15 BC) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work entitled '' De architectura''. He originated the idea that all buildings should have three attribut ...
described the function of the noria. Around 300, the Romans replaced the wooden compartments with separate, attached ceramic pots that were tied to the outside of an open-framed wheel, thereby creating the noria. During the
Islamic Golden Age The Islamic Golden Age was a period of cultural, economic, and scientific flourishing in the history of Islam, traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 14th century. This period is traditionally understood to have begun during the reign ...
, norias were adopted from
classical antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...
by Muslim engineers, Donald Hill (1996), "Engineering", in Roshdi Rashed, ''Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science'', Vol. 3, p. 751-795 75 who made improvements to the noria. For example, the
flywheel A flywheel is a mechanical device which uses the conservation of angular momentum to store rotational energy; a form of kinetic energy proportional to the product of its moment of inertia and the square of its rotational speed. In particular, as ...
mechanism used to smooth out the delivery of power from a driving device to a driven machine, was invented by ibn Bassal (
fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...
1038–1075) of
al-Andalus Al-Andalus translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label= Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, al-Ándalus () was the M ...
, who pioneered the use of the flywheel in the noria and saqiyah. In 1206, Ismail al-Jazari introduced the use of the carank in the noria and saqiya, and the concept of minimizing
intermittency In dynamical systems, intermittency is the irregular alternation of phases of apparently periodic and chaotic dynamics ( Pomeau–Manneville dynamics), or different forms of chaotic dynamics (crisis-induced intermittency). Pomeau and Mannev ...
was implied for the purpose of maximising their efficiency. Donald Hill, "Engineering", in Roshdi Rashed (ed.), '' Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science'', Vol. 2, pp. 751-795 76
Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law ...
, London and New York
Muslim engineers used norias to discharge water into aqueducts which carried the water to towns and fields. The norias of Hama, for example, were in diameter and are still used in modern times (although currently only serving aesthetic purposes). The largest wheel has 120 water collection compartments and could raise more than 95 litres of water per minute. In the 10th century,
Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi Abū Bakr al-Rāzī (full name: ar, أبو بکر محمد بن زکریاء الرازي, translit=Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Zakariyyāʾ al-Rāzī, label=none), () rather than ar, زکریاء, label=none (), as for example in , or in . In m ...
's '' Al-Hawi'' describes a noria in
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
that could lift as much as 153,000 litres per hour, or 2550 litres per minute. This is comparable to the output of modern norias in
East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...
, which can lift up to 288,000 litres per hour, or 4800 litres per minute. In the late 13th century the Marinid sultan
Abu Yaqub Yusuf Abu Ya`qub Yusuf or Yusuf I ( ''Abū Ya‘qūb Yūsuf''; 1135 – 14 October 1184) was the second Almohad ''Amir'' or caliph. He reigned from 1163 until 1184 in Marrakesh. He was responsible for the construction of the Giralda in Seville, whi ...
built an enormous noria, sometimes referred to as the "Grand Noria", in order to provide water for the vast
Mosara Garden The Mosara Garden or el-Mosara was a vast royal garden to the north of Fes el-Jdid, the historic citadel and palace-city of the Marinid dynasty in Fes, Morocco. The gardens were created by the Marinid sultan Abu Ya'qub Yusuf in 1286 and became fa ...
he created in Fez,
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...
. Its construction began in 1286 and was finished the next year. The noria, designed by an Andalusian engineer named Ibn al-Hajj, measured 26 metres in diameter and 2 metres wide. The wheel was made of wood but covered in
copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pink ...
, fitted into a stone structure adjoined to a nearby city gate. After the decline of the Marinids both the gardens and the noria fell into neglect; the wheel of the noria reportedly disappeared in 1888, leaving only remains of the stone base. Numerous norias were also built in Al-Andalus, during the Islamic period of the Iberian Peninsula (8th-15th centuries), and continued to be built by Christian Spanish engineers afterwards. The most famous are the Albolafia in Cordoba (of uncertain date, partly reconstructed today), along the Guadalquivir River, and a former noria in Toledo, along the
Tagus River The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections, to ...
. According to al-Idrisi, the Toledo noria was especially large and could raise water from the river to an aqueduct over 40 meters above it, which then supplied water to the city. Norias and similar devices were also used on vast scale in some parts of Spain for agricultural purposes. The rice plantations of Valencia were said to have 8000 norias, while Mallorca had over 4000 animal-driven saqiyas which were in use up until the beginning of the 20th century. The Alcantarilla Noria near Murcia, a noria built in the 15th century under Spanish Christian rule, is one of the better-known examples to have survived to the present-day. File:Nora Hidráulica do Mouchão.jpg, Noria do Mouchão,
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...
. Paired ceramic pots along the wheel collect the water. File:Nora Hidráulica (pormenor).jpg, Close-up of the Noria do Mouchão File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Kintjir of waterschepwiel in Djambi Sumatra TMnr 10007886.jpg, Noria in Jambi,
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...
, between 1914 and 1921 File:Rastan, 1934-39.jpg, In Al-Rastan, Syria in the 1930s File:Iraq-wheels-Euphrates.jpg, On the
Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...
, at Ajmiyeh, near Rawa,
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
, in 1911 File:Noria CDR4.JPG, Noria de Casas del Río, in Requena, Spain, in 2009. Operational. File:Azuda de la Montaña, Aranjuez 01.jpg, Azuda de la Montaña,
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, Spain File:RuedaAlcantarilla.jpg, Noria of
Alcantarilla Alcantarilla () is a town and municipality in southeastern Spain, in the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia. The town is only 7 km away from the capital of the region, the city of Murcia, and one of its peculiarities is that it is c ...
in Spain, operational as of 2020


References


Further reading

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External links


Spanish ''norias'' in the Region of Murcia

Photos of the norias of Hama in Syria
{{Authority control Aqueducts Pumps Irrigation Articles containing video clips Ancient Egyptian technology Egyptian inventions Watermills Water wheels