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  • 《景觀設(shè)計學(xué)》2019年第4期

    作 者：
    布魯諾?德?繆德爾（Bruno De MEULDER），凱利?香農(nóng)（Kelly SHANNON），楊正（YANG Zheng）等
    類 別：
    景觀
    出 版 社：
    高等教育出版社有限公司
    出版時間：
    2019年8月

俞孔堅?歐拉綠洲與消失的文明——《景觀設(shè)計學(xué)》2019年第4期“主編寄語”
Al-Ula Oasis and the Lost Civilization, By Yu Kongjian

2019年7月，應(yīng)沙特阿拉伯歐拉皇家委員會之邀，我和其他專家學(xué)者一同來到位于阿拉伯半島西北部城市歐拉的世界文化遺產(chǎn)地—石谷（瑪?shù)椋忱眨┛脊胚z址。對我來說，這是一個遙遠(yuǎn)的地方—不僅因為它在空間上和我的祖國距離遙遠(yuǎn)，還因為它的景觀和文化對我而言也十分遙遠(yuǎn)。它的存在沖破了我所能想見的歷史的地平，并將我的思緒拉伸至浩渺的宇宙和星空，以及憧憬已久的伊甸園?？臻g、時間和精神的距離，使歐拉之于我猶如史前人類眼中的星空明月般神秘而美麗。

歐拉在阿拉伯語中意為“布滿村莊的干河谷”。這條“河谷”夾在東西兩條巖石山脈之間，南北延伸，其核心區(qū)域為一片綿延20km的歐拉綠洲以及散布在綠洲邊緣的多處世界級遺址。廣義的歐拉則是一個漏斗狀的、面積約為2.9萬平方千米的流域，而歐拉綠洲就位于“漏斗”狹長的尾部。盡管年降雨量只有50mm左右[1]，但由于兩側(cè)山地都是不透水的巖體，且降雨集中在冬季的幾天之內(nèi)，流域內(nèi)的雨水最終都匯聚在歐拉的谷地之中，逐漸形成了這片沙漠中的綠洲以及綠洲文明。

在盛夏的烈日之下，我們走遍了綠洲及其周邊的自然和歷史遺址。據(jù)當(dāng)?shù)叵驅(qū)Ы榻B，人類在這里的活動至少可以追溯到20萬年前的舊石器時代。此后，這里被不同的文明相繼占據(jù)，包括分別于公元前7世紀(jì)和公元前5世紀(jì)興起的兩個阿拉伯西北部王朝—德丹王朝和利恩王朝[2]，其曾在政治和經(jīng)濟(jì)上控制著整個阿拉伯西北地區(qū)，如今卻只留下了戈壁荒灘上的一片廢墟和刻在巖壁上的圖文。之后，主宰這片綠洲的是公元前1世紀(jì)興起的納巴泰人[3]，其遺址分布在綠洲北端沙漠中的一處高地之上，是這處世界文化遺產(chǎn)中最璀璨的明珠。納巴泰人因善于經(jīng)商而聞名，縱橫馳騁于阿拉伯半島，但最終從這里神秘消失，只留下鑿在巖壁上的高大的貴族墓室和寬敞的議事大廳。

此地距離當(dāng)代最近的古代文明遺跡是因伊斯蘭政權(quán)的興起而建造的歐拉古鎮(zhèn)，這座阿拉伯古香道和朝圣線路上的重鎮(zhèn)曾繁華一時，據(jù)說伊斯蘭教創(chuàng)始人穆罕默德也曾踏上過這片土地。這里曾是阿拉伯人的冬居場所，其夏季居所位于地勢較低的綠洲之中。通過掘土堆墻形成的下沉式庭院里種滿了棗椰樹（Phoenix dactylifera），房屋院落交替布局，形成村落，綿延在棗椰樹冠之下。遺憾的是，這片曾被譽(yù)為“綠蔭中的夏都”的農(nóng)莊，而今只留下斷墻殘垣和枯死的樹干。由于古鎮(zhèn)的荒廢，最后一戶當(dāng)?shù)鼐用褚灿?983年離開。我鉆入迷宮般的古鎮(zhèn)街道，仿佛進(jìn)入了《一千零一夜》遙遠(yuǎn)而凄涼的故事場景之中。

在歐拉的日子里，一個問題始終縈繞在我的腦海中：那些古老的文明是如何消失的？它們的主人到哪里去了？人們?yōu)槭裁聪嗬^離開這里？帶著這些問題，我開始探究綠洲的奧秘。貫穿綠洲的干河在冬季會偶發(fā)洪水，并淹沒河床。原本溢流可以很快滲入沙漠中，但在綠洲下游的平坦沙漠地帶，寬闊的干河谷沙灘已被渠化，高高的水泥防洪堤綿延數(shù)公里，而機(jī)場和新城建設(shè)又進(jìn)一步侵占了原本可滲水的廣袤沙漠。據(jù)說當(dāng)局正準(zhǔn)備修建一條排水渠，將洪水直接排入紅海。雖然通過迷宮般的土墻仍可清晰地辨認(rèn)綠洲復(fù)雜的產(chǎn)權(quán)邊界，但大部分農(nóng)莊實際上已被撂荒，即便有人管理，也只是作為城里人周末的休閑場所，原來的農(nóng)耕生活方式已經(jīng)消失，而那些茂盛生長的棗椰林則大部分由商業(yè)公司種植并管理。

當(dāng)我走進(jìn)其中一戶由當(dāng)?shù)厝司S護(hù)的傳統(tǒng)農(nóng)莊，感覺完全進(jìn)入了另一個世界。與農(nóng)莊外不堪忍受的43℃的干熱環(huán)境相比，這里濕潤而涼爽，滿眼蔥綠，空氣中彌漫著青草的芬芳。農(nóng)莊還保留著傳統(tǒng)的三層種植方式：上層是棗椰樹，中層是各類果樹，下層是蔬菜綠草；綠洲兩側(cè)高峻的巖體倒映在一汪汪薄水面之中——這是對棗椰樹進(jìn)行漫灌而形成的水面；鳥兒們歡快的鳴唱從各個方向傳來，一群山羊啃食著棗椰樹下的大葉苔草，零散分布的夯土房掩映在棗椰樹下……這不正是我所想象的伊甸園中的景象嗎！當(dāng)我詢問農(nóng)場主人水的來源時，他把我?guī)У揭豢诰?，這水來自75m深的地下，抽取之后再通過管道引至各戶農(nóng)莊。當(dāng)?shù)叵驅(qū)Ц嬖V我，20多年前，這里的地下水埋深不到10m。更早的時候，這里還曾流淌著泉水。而近年來，地下水位卻正以每年3m的速度下降。之后，我又來到一片棗椰樹種植園，眼前的棗椰林郁郁蔥蔥，濃密而整齊的樹冠幾乎完全遮蔽了陽光，林下沒有果木和地被，免費的地下水被毫無節(jié)制地抽取出來用于漫灌。

看到這一景象，我不禁擔(dān)憂：再過20年，哪里還有水資源來滋養(yǎng)這片如伊甸園一般的綠洲？我似乎明白了為什么20萬年來，一個接一個的綠洲文明相繼消失，一撥又一撥的綠洲占有者最后都從這里神秘離去——對流域內(nèi)有限水資源的濫用導(dǎo)致綠洲的承載力不斷下降，并形成了惡性循環(huán)；最終，人和自然之間的微妙平衡被打破，人類不得不遷徙他方另謀生路。于是，強(qiáng)占綠洲、爭奪有限的水資源便成為解讀中東乃至世界歷史的一個視角。經(jīng)過與同行的國際考古學(xué)家進(jìn)行交流，并參考有限的歷史資料，這一猜想得到了高度驗證。

基于此，我找到了保護(hù)和發(fā)展歐拉，并解決其所面臨的眾多問題的路徑：綠洲及滋養(yǎng)綠洲的流域是一個完整的系統(tǒng)，其中的水循環(huán)一旦失去平衡，必將使整個系統(tǒng)發(fā)生不可逆的惡化，最終導(dǎo)致人與土地和諧關(guān)系的破裂。所以，修復(fù)水循環(huán)是重建人地關(guān)系的不二選擇。而探討以水文特征定義的流域的生態(tài)修復(fù)和可持續(xù)治理，恰是景觀設(shè)計學(xué)科的核心內(nèi)容之一。

The Royal Commission for Al-Ula invited experts and scholars, including myself, to the Al-Hijr Archaeological Site (Madain Saleh) in July 2019. The site, a World Cultural Heritage in Al-Ula, located in the northwest of Arabian Peninsula, was physically and psychologically distant for me — its history, landscape, and culture are beyond my horizon, inviting me to think of the vast universe and a Garden of Eden which I have long fascinated for. To me, the spatial, temporal, and spiritual distance made the city mysteriously charming.

Al-Ula means “valley of villages” in Arabic. The core area of the north-south “valley” between two mountain ranges was an oasis stretching 20 kilometers, along the periphery of which there are many World Heritage Sites. Al-Ula can be roughly seen as a funnel-like watershed of 29,000 square kilometers, and the oasis was at its narrow tail. Thanks to the impermeable rock mass on both sides of the area and concentrated rainfall in winter though the annual precipitation is only 50 millimeters[1], the steep geology of the area funnels water into the valley and subsequently supports the oasis and towns.

Under the scorching midsummer sun, we wandered through the oasis and surrounding heritage sites. The local guide said that human activity here can trace back over 200,000 years, beginning with the Old Stone Age. Over centuries, this area has been ruled by different civilizations, including the Dedān and the Li?yān kingdoms rising in the 7th and 5th century B.C. respectively[2]. These once-mighty powers controlled the territory politically and economically, but they left only some remnant town fabrics in the desert with stone inscriptions and palisades carvings. Later, Nabataeans emerging in the 1st century B.C. dominated the oasis[3]. Their ruins lie on the northern highlands of the oasis, shining among the adjacent heritage sites. The Nabataeans mysteriously vanished after a prosperity through the Arabian Peninsula, leaving no traces but huge coffin chambers and a meeting hall chiseled in the cliffs.

Most recently, the ancient town that emerged at the dawn of the Islamic period occupied the Al-Ula oasis. As a key hub in the ancient incense trade and pilgrimages routes, it is said that Mohammed, the founder of Islam, visited the town. The ancient town was mostly occupied in winter as the Arabians moved to the lower oasis during summer, where the date palms (Phoenix dactylifera) were grown in sunken courtyards made of rammed earth. The last family had left in 1983, leaving this once verdant village only dilapidated walls and trunks of dead date palms. Immersed in the mazy streets in this ancient town, I felt lost as if they were the remote and desolate scenes of The Thousand and One Nights.

During my time in Al-Ula, my mind was occupied by several questions: How did those ancient civilizations disappear? Where did the residents go? Why did they leave? I explored the site with these questions. Winter floods may occur occasionally in the oasis. However, the overflow from the river can hardly be infiltrated into the downstream desert as the broad sand beach has been channelized with high and long cement floodwalls. Worse, in addition to the construction of airports and new towns that have encroached on the desert, more engineering projects are undergoing, including constructing a channel to discharge flood water directly to the Red Sea. The historic earthworks of farms form a complicated array of property lines that continue to define the landscapes, but most of them are facing a shrinking population. Those remaining populated farms are primarily run as weekend entertainment places for urban residents, while most of the date palm plantations are run for commercial uses.

Entering one farm managed by the local, I was immediately attracted by a cool breeze and luxurious green vegetation. It was a welcome reprise from the dry and hot conditions outside. The farm maintains a traditional three-layered planting pattern, with date palms as the canopy, under which are various fruit trees, and vegetables and grasses grown on the ground. The steep rocks that line the oasis are reflected in the shallow puddles formed by the flood irrigation for date palms. The birds are singing all around while goats are grazing along the vegetation, and rammed earth houses are scattered among the date palms. Is not this what the Garden of Eden is like! When asked about the water source, the farmer showed me a 75-meter-deep well where the groundwater is pumped up into channels for farming uses. The local guide told me that there were springs in early years; two decades ago the groundwater level was as high as 10 meter deep; but in recent years it is decreasing by 3 meters annually. Later that day, when I visited a monoculture date palm plantation, I saw no fruit trees or ground cover, but date palms are planted in an extremely high density and irrigated immoderately with groundwater.

I was shocked by the scenes and started to concern that there would probably not be any water left to support this oasis and the cities in two decades. It occurred to me why so many civilizations had disappeared over the past 200,000 years: the misuse of limited water resource degraded the environmental capacity of the oasis, breaking the balance between humans and the land. People would have to move, or conflict for the scarce oases and water resource. This offers a perspective to understand the history of the Middle East and even the world, which has been soon proofed by my further conversations with archaeologists and historical studies.

Then I have come to the solution to protecting and developing Al-Ula, and addressing its challenges: the oasis and the watershed it depends on should be regarded as an integral system; a balanced water cycle must be maintained, otherwise the system will deteriorate, irreversibly disrupting the human-land relationship. This means that water cycle restoration must be the top priority. It happens that one of the key tasks of Landscape Architecture is to explore ecological restoration and sustainable management of watershed in the sense of hydrology.

REFERENCES
[1]  Climate Al-Ula. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.climate-data.org/asia/saudi-arabia/al-madinah-region/al-ula-549869/
[2]  Ancient Cultures. (n.d.). Dedan-Kkuraibah, Early Ancient Kingdom & Trading Oasis on Incense Route. Retrieved from http://ancient-cultures.info/data/documents/NEW-Dedan.pdf
[3]  Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (n.d.). Nabataean Kingdom and Petra. Retrieved from https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/naba/hd_naba.htm

 

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