page_title: Cistern
section_title: Early domestic and agricultural use
hierarchical_section_title: Cistern / Origins / Early domestic and agricultural use
caption_attribution_description: English: medium sized rock cut cistern at pavuralla konda at bheemunipatnam
context_page_description: A cistern is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by their waterproof linings. Modern cisterns range in capacity from a few litres to thousands of cubic metres, effectively forming covered reservoirs.
context_section_description: Waterproof lime plaster cisterns in the floors of houses are features of Neolithic village sites of the Levant at, for instance, Ramad and Lebwe, and by the late fourth millennium BC, as at Jawa in northeastern Lebanon, cisterns are essential elements of emerging water management techniques in dry-land farming communities.
caption: Ancient Buddhist rock-hewn cistern at Pavurallakonda in India
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