306 Int. J. Global Environmental Issues, Vol. 14, Nos. 3/4, 2015 Copyright © 2015 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Water management structures in historical settlements: towards a cross-geographical, cross-cultural categorisation Eleni Antonelli* Department of Architecture, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, 97403, USA Email: eantonel@uoregon.edu *Corresponding author Katherine Liapi Department of Architecture, University of Patras, 26504, Panepistimioupolis, Patras, Greece Email: kliapi@upatras.gr Abstract: In almost all the studied historical settlements place and water in its most general, both symbolic and practical definition, appear to be interwoven and interdependent. There are many references regarding the construction methods, shape and usage of water management structures in historical settlements. However, little research has been conducted comparing the findings of water structures to one another. In this paper a categorisation of significant existing water management structures in historical settlements is attempted on the basis of their main function and role in the water exploitation process. Collection, transportation and storage, as well as combinations of the above, have been identified as the main categories of water management structures in historical settlements. Examples of structures belonging to each category that come from various cultural backgrounds and geographical areas are discussed and a further categorisation of structures belonging to the same category, based on ground/structure relationship, is also attempted and presented in the paper. Keywords: water collection; water transportation; water storage; categorisation; water management systems; global environmental issues. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Antonelli, E. and Liapi, K. (2015) ‘Water management structures in historical settlements: towards a cross-geographical, cross-cultural categorisation’, Int. J. Global Environmental Issues, Vol. 14, Nos. 3/4, pp.306–320. Biographical notes: Eleni Antonelli is a Diplomated Architect-Engineer in University of Patras, Greece (2014) and Post-professional Master of Science in Architecture student and Graduate Teaching Fellow in University of Oregon, USA (2014–). Katherine Liapi is a Diplomated Architect-Engineer in National Technical University of Athens (N.T.U.A.), Greece (1984). She received her Post-professional Master of Architecture (1986), Master of Science in Arch.