The detection, reconstruction, and evolution of historical hydrological systems is a topic currently gaining importance in connection with the availability of multitemporal remote sensing data. The current landscape of Iraqi Kurdistan is characterized by high geomorphological and climatic heterogeneity, where a major transformation of the settlement structure and the gradual disappearance of traditional rural settlements has occurred and continues to occur over the last decades.
At the same time, in this predominantly deforested mountain environment, standard analyses of soil and crop marks or terrain remains—commonly used in more open lowland agrarian landscapes—cannot be fully utilized. This is due to the significantly fragmented terrain morphology, strong erosion processes, and difficult accessibility of the terrain. The mountainous areas of Northern Kurdistan represent a specific cultural-landscape type, in which the settlement structure is closely tied to mountain massifs functioning as a source of protection and key natural resources, especially water. The methods of its acquisition, accumulation, distribution, and transport to agriculturally used valley areas therefore show a high degree of technological and spatial variability.
This research focuses in detail on capturing hydrological systems, their connection to various forms of settlement (sedentary vs. semi-nomadic), water acquisition strategies (gravity-fed irrigation, spring capture), and the density, hierarchy, and typology of water networks within the Siktan–Gomaspan Archaeological Project (SGAP) area in the mountain micro-region north of Koya (Iraqi Kurdistan). This contribution presents methodological possibilities for recognizing historical hydrological structures in a mountain environment by integrating remote sensing methods, GIS analyses, predictive modeling, and field verification. Multitemporal analysis of historical and current satellite data, Digital Elevation Models (DEM), and their derivatives (slope, aspect, curvature, hydrological flow accumulation, Topographic Wetness Index – TWI) are utilized. The identification of potential hydrological relics is further supported by visual interpretation methods and watershed analysis.

First Author: Tomáš Náhlík

Co-Authors: Lenka Starková, Karel Nováček

Keywords:
hydrology
Iraqi Kurdistan
water managment
spatial analysis
predictive modeling
remote sensing