🇾🇪 Yemen · Hydraulic works
Marib Dam East Wadi Dhana Barrage
Sabaean to Himyarite · Kingdom of Saba (Sabaean South Arabian) then Himyar
480-m east rockfill barrage of Great Marib Dam at Balaq Hills gap.
Search places, or jump to a section
CategoriesHydraulic works
Canals, qanats, stepwells and reservoirs of ancient engineers.
🇮🇳 India · Hydraulic works
Early Historic to Medieval · Early Chola, Medieval Chola, Vijayanagara
800-m-east Kallanai east channel with 9-sluice Chola regulator feeding east delta.
🇾🇪 Yemen · Hydraulic works
Sabaean to Himyarite · Kingdom of Saba (Sabaean South Arabian) then Himyar
480-m east rockfill barrage of Great Marib Dam at Balaq Hills gap.
🇦🇷 Argentina · Ancient city
Late Horizon Inca Imperial (1471–1536 CE, abandoned post-1536) · Inca (Topa Inca – Diaguita / Calchaquí conquest)
Inca provincial capital (1470–1536) in Catamarca, the southernmost planned Inca city in the empire, founded by Topa Inca Yupanqui to govern Calchaquí valley Diaguita conquest: fully orthogonal Inca…
🇩🇿 Algeria · Hydraulic works
Sanhaja Berber to Marinid · Touat Zenete–Sanhaja oasis
Touat Adrar: 84 foggaras 140 km Africa's densest Sahara foggara corridor 27.87N.
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia · Hydraulic works
Late Pre-Islamic to Early Islamic · Nabataean–Himyarite to Umayyad
110-m two-phase dam (320 BCE–750 CE) on Wadi al-Khanaq — Khaibar oasis northern reservoir.
🇱🇾 Libya · Ancient city
Roman to Modern (19 BCE–present; medieval ksar 7th c CE onward) · Garamantine / Berber Ibadi / Arab / Ottoman
UNESCO saharan ksar Ghadames — whitewashed roof-terrace oasis fed by Ain Al Faras.
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia · Hydraulic works
Iron Age to Early Islamic (Assyrian to Islamic) · North Arabian oasis / Assyrian sphere
Al-Jawf depression (580 m, 29°51′N 40°00′E central Sirhan) qanat field tapping western Widyan tributaries (900-1100 m) and basalt plateau 800-900 m to supply Dumat al-Jandal (ancient Adummatu) at…
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia · Hydraulic works
Early Abbasid (Harun al-Rashid–Al-Amin) · Abbasid (Zubaydah bint Ja'far patronage)
Ayn Zubaydah: 35-km Abbasid 809 CE spring aqueduct from Wadi Nu'man to Haram, Makkah.
🇸🇩 Sudan · Ancient city
Middle Kingdom to New Kingdom (1900–1070 BCE) · Ancient Egyptian occupier
Twin customs forts Semna–Kumma bracketing Second Cataract with Sesostris III's negro-ship decree.
🇩🇿 Algeria · Hydraulic works
Almoravid to Saadian · Zenete Berber oases (Gourara)
Gourara Timimoun: 42 foggaras 68 km gallery 12th c. irrigating 1,200 ha Sahara oasis 29.26N.
🇫🇷 France · Hydraulic works
Roman Imperial (Augustan-Claudian, mid-1st c. CE) · Roman Gallia Narbonensis (Nemausus)
Augustinian 48.8-m 3-tier bridge 50-km Nîmes aqueduct 35,000 m³/d, 6-tonne dry stone.
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia · Hydraulic works
Umayyad (with possible South Arabian precursor) · Umayyad Hejaz oasis
Wadi Fatima: 65-m rock-fill dam at Al Jumum 28 km west of Mecca, 8th c. Umayyad 32,000 m³.
🇹🇳 Tunisia · Ancient city
Epipaleolithic to Modern (10,000 BCE-present; peak Capsian 8000-6000 BCE and Roman 1st-4th c CE) · Capsian Epipaleolithic / Numidian / Roman / Byzantine
Capsian oasis fortress Capsa.
🇮🇷 Iran · Hydraulic works
Sasanian to Kakuyid (450 CE, repaired 1050 CE) · Sasanian Zagros (Eqlid terrace farmers)
Tang-e Boraq: 420-m Sasanian 450 CE cliff aqueduct in 85-m Zagros gorge, Eqlid 30.55N 52.32E.
🇯🇴 Jordan · Hydraulic works
Early Bronze Age IA · Proto-Jawa
1.8-km spate canal feeding 12-ha bunded fields north of Jawa town.
🇮🇷 Iran · Hydraulic works
Ilkhanid branch on Achaemenid–Sasanian trunk · Ilkhanid Yazd (branch) on Persian qanat tradition
Qanat-e Zarch west: 11.2-km Ilkhanid branch of world's longest 71-km Yazd qanat, UNESCO 1476.
🇸🇾 Syria · Hydraulic works
Umayyad (Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik) · Umayyad steppe palace culture
Hayr Gharbi: 16-km Umayyad 727 CE limestone canal from Harbaka Dam to steppe palace 34.52N 38.12E.
🇮🇷 Iran · Hydraulic works
Sasanian (Shapur I–II) · Sasanian Persian
180-m Sasanian gravity dam (240–380 CE) on Minab tributary — 300,000 m³ for Minab palms.
🇾🇪 Yemen · Hydraulic works
Hadhrami Old South Arabian · Hadhramawt kingdom
220-m Hadhrami diversion dam (700 BCE–400 CE) on Wadi Jirdan tributary — Hadramawt palm irrigation.
🇮🇷 Iran · Hydraulic works
Safavid with Sasanian spolia · Safavid Khuzestan
Band-e Ahmadi: 180-m Safavid 1680 bridge-dam 4 km south of Shushtar UNESCO, 12 arches.
🇻🇳 Vietnam · Ancient city
Óc Eo 100 BCE–300 CE → Funan 200–600 CE → Chenla 600–800 CE → Khmer influence 800–1200 · Óc Eo–Funan (pre–Angkorian Mekong hydraulic with Indianization)
Mekong Delta Óc Eo–Funan secondary city (100 BCE–600 CE) at Go Thap Tháp Mười — 400 ha with Vishnu Garuda and 20 km canal to Oc Eo.
🇪🇨 Ecuador · Hydraulic works
Late Horizon Inca Imperial (1470–1532 CE) · Inca (Topa Inca / Huayna Capac – Cañari conquest)
Extraordinary preserved 8 km upland paramo section of Inca Qhapaq Ñan (royal road) climbing 3600–4200 m across Azuay páramo linking Achupallas (Inca tambo) to Ingapirca (Hatun Cañar) via stone-paved…
🇲🇽 Mexico · Ancient city
Terminal Classic – Postclassic (900–1520 CE) · Maya (Putún-Chontal / Campeche coast)
Postclassic salt–shell island port (900–1520 CE) on Uaymil sand barrier island north of Jaina, 25 km offshore Campeche mangroves: 20 low platforms 1–2 m high with columned halls, oratories and…
🇹🇷 Turkey · Ancient city
Late Bronze Age to Byzantine (c.3000 BCE–12th century CE; peak Julio-Claudian to Severan) · Carian → Hellenistic Greek → Roman → Byzantine
Aphrodite's marble city with 30,000-seat stadium, Tetrapylon and Sebasteion reliefs.