A thriving civilization once existed in the Sahara Desert many years ago. However, their prosperity was short-lived as the groundwater they depended on eventually ran dry.

While humans have shown remarkable adaptability, their ability to challenge harsh environmental conditions has its limits.

In the heart of the Sahara Desert, specifically in what is now southwestern Libya, an empire built a remarkable city and town.

These settlements are among the oldest known examples of large permanent populations thriving in an environment devoid of rivers or lakes. Their success is a testament to human ingenuity, but it also serves as a warning about the tendency to squander the natural resources the Earth provides.

For the past 5,000 years, the Sahara has been one of the most inhospitable places on this planet. However, before that, it resembled the modern-day Serengeti, with waterholes and abundant wildlife for sustenance.

This region is considered one of the places where humans first developed pottery.

Around 2,400 years ago, the Garamantes established their society in a Sahara that had already transformed into the harsh, arid desert people know today.

Nevertheless, vestiges of the past environment persisted in certain locations, including the Garamantes' homeland in Wadi el-Agial.

While most groundwater in the Sahara lay too deep for agriculture without modern technology, Wadi el-Agial had some water tables at higher levels.

Professor Frank Schwartz from Ohio State University reveals that the Garamantes employed a clever technique.

They dug sloping tunnels called qanats into water-rich slopes and harnessed the runoff to irrigate the valleys below.

Although other ancient civilizations in arid regions used a similar method, the Garamantes faced even more challenging conditions.

Schwartz speculates that they may have adopted this idea from Persia, where such technology had been pioneered over a thousand years prior.

Beneath the Sahara Desert lies a massive sandstone aquifer, one of the largest in the world.

While the Sahara experienced periods when it was a fertile grassland, it has been largely dry for millions of years.

Nevertheless, Schwartz's research demonstrates that the region's geological features allowed water from extensive catchment areas to flow toward the base of the Messak Settafet mountain range, providing water for the Garamantes for centuries.

Sadly, in line with all typical behavior towards scarce resources, the Garamantes dug an extensive network of tunnels, stretching over 750 kilometers, with the longest reaching 4.5 kilometers.

As the water replenishment rate dwindled, the region gradually succumbed to arid conditions, and the consequence became inevitable.

Schwartz noted, "These tunnels should not work. In Persia, the tunnels are replenished with water yearly, but there is no such replenishment here."

Over time, the once-abundant water ran out, and the water table dropped below the level of the tunnels.

While more cautious water usage may have delayed the crisis, approximately 1,600 years ago, the civilization was forced to abandon their settlements as their vital water source had run dry.