Mamluk Empire’s sugar industry revealed in ancient tunnels
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 27-Oct-2025 17:11 ET (27-Oct-2025 21:11 GMT/UTC)
Beneath the verdant pools of Gan Ha-Shelosha lies a network of medieval tunnels that once powered the thriving sugar industry of the Mamluk Empire. Hewn into soft tufa rock along Nahal ‘Amal, the tunnels reveal how medieval engineers transformed brackish spring water into a source of mechanical energy, adapting their methods to a dry landscape. Radiometric dating and archaeological evidence suggest these channels supplied water to sugar mills, linking local ingenuity to the wider economic currents of the late medieval Mediterranean. The discovery redefines the industrial landscape of the Bet She’an Valley, highlighting an unexpected fusion of geology, hydrology, and commerce in the medieval Levant.
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