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A qanat, also known as karez, is a farming technology known to have developed in ancient Persia, and then spread to other cultures, especially along the Silk Road. It is an underground irrigation system, used to tap underground water and channel it to places where groundwater is scarce. It is constructed by tunneling into a cliff, or the base of a mountainous area, following a water-bearing formation. This allows water to flow to agricultural areas so that plants will grow. The water may or may not be brought up to the surface. About four-fifths of the water used in the plateau regions of Iran is brought to use in this way. However, because agriculture is less and less practiced in Iran, the qanats that are being made now are not as effective as those made in the past due to deteriorating knowledge of how to make them.
See here about section on ancient natural refrigerators in Persia called yakhchal.
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