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CategoriesHydraulic works
Canals, qanats, stepwells and reservoirs of ancient engineers.
🇹🇷 Turkey · Ancient city
Hellenistic to Early Byzantine (333 BCE–700 CE peak 2nd c. CE) · Pisidian → Roman Imperial
Toros Pisidian city excavated by Waelkens 1990–, earthquake 540 CE disruption, Antonine cascade reconstructed 2014.
🇯🇴 Jordan · Fortress
Crusader (1115 CE) + Ayyubid/Mamluk · Crusader Latin Kingdom / Ayyubid
Shobak excavated by Brown 1990s, 1115 Baldwin I foundation besieged by Saladin, secret spring tunnel unique.
🇮🇳 India · Hydraulic works
Harappan (2650–2000 BCE) · Harappan Dholavira
Kutch Dholavira excavated by Bisht 1989–, signboard 10 Indus signs and stadium 300 m.
🇮🇷 Iran · Hydraulic works
Median Kingdom (750-550 BCE) – earlyMedian · Median (western Iranian)
Median rockfill dam and plastered cistern (42 m x 4.8 m, 2,200 m³) at fire-temple citadel of Nush-i Jan (750 BCE).
🇮🇷 Iran · Hydraulic works
Ilkhanid Mongol (1300) to Safavid · Mongol–Persian hydraulic (Rashid al-Din's Jami' al-Tawarikh?), Qom Shi'a
1300 Mongol 26-m arch radius 35 m, oldest surviving arch dam (first Mongol), 294 yr before Tibi Europe.
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka · Hydraulic works
Anuradhapura period (400 BCE – 10th c. CE) · Anuradhapura Sinhalese (Sinhala hydraulic civilisation)
400 BCE 350-ha 3.8 Mm³ tank with Bisokotuwa sluice — world's earliest valve 3rd c. BCE.
🇹🇷 Turkey · Hydraulic works
Late Roman to Ottoman (4th–19th c. CE) · East Roman (Byzantine) Constantinople
Valens 971-m double-tier bridge head of 426-km Thracian late Roman water network 373 CE.
🇴🇲 Oman · Hydraulic works
Iron Age to Modern (Hafit to Islamic) · Hajar oasis (Magan to Islamic)
Cross-border aflaj network (320 m, 24°15′N 55°45′E Buraimi) extending the UNESCO Aflaj Irrigation Systems of Oman (1207, 2006) from Nizwa-Sharqiyah to the Hajar-Buraimi piedmont.
🇵🇰 Pakistan · Hydraulic works
Harappan Mature (2600-1900 BCE) · Harappan
Mohenjo-daro Great Bath Western Drain Annex — Southern Extension in Sindh, Larkana, Pakistan is a Harappan Mature (2600-1900 BCE) hydraulic attributed to Harappan.
🇵🇰 Pakistan · Hydraulic works
Harappan Mature (2600-1900 BCE) · Harappan
Mohenjo-daro Great Bath Western Drain Annex — Eastern Outlier in Sindh, Larkana, Pakistan is a Harappan Mature (2600-1900 BCE) hydraulic attributed to Harappan.
🇸🇾 Syria · Hydraulic works
Roman Hadrianic to Byzantine Justinian · Roman–Byzantine coastal Levant
Nahr al-Kabir: 3.2-km Roman 2nd-c. canalized river reach on Syria 35.30N coastal plain, Latakia.
🇵🇪 Peru · Hydraulic works
Formative (1000 BCE–500 CE) · Formative hydraulic
Nazca Cantalloc Aqueduct Spiral 7 in Ica, Nazca, Peru is a Formative (1000 BCE–500 CE) hydraulic attributed to Formative hydraulic.
🇩🇿 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.
🇪🇨 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…
🇹🇷 Turkey · Ancient city
Urartian Kingdom late 8th century BCE · Urartian (Biainili)
Twin-ridge Urartian palatial city of Sarduri II with Haldi temple and 5 km Urartian canal.
🇹🇷 Turkey · Ancient city
Bronze Age to Byzantine (peak Antonine 2nd century CE) · Pamphylian Greek → Hellenistic → Roman → Byzantine → Seljuk
Pamphylian city with the world's most intact 15,000-seat Roman theatre (155 CE) and inverted-siphon aqueduct.
🇮🇳 India · Temple complex
Early Historic (3rd c. BCE–3rd CE) · Satavahana
Thotlakonda — Visakhapatnam Monastery in Andhra Pradesh, Visakhapatnam, India is a Early Historic (3rd c. BCE–3rd CE) temple complex attributed to Satavahana culture.
🇴🇲 Oman · Hydraulic works
Iron Age (1000 BCE) to present · Omani, Iron Age to Islamic
Approximately 3,000 still-active aflaj (singular falaj) thread Oman, of which five exemplars — Daris, Al-Khatmeen, Al-Malki, Al-Jeela and Al-Muyassar — are inscribed.
🇵🇪 Peru · Hydraulic works
Byzantine (330–1453 CE) · Byzantine
Hydraulic System at Church in Ancash, Peru is a Byzantine (330–1453 CE) hydraulic attributed to Byzantine culture.
🇲🇽 Mexico · Ancient city
Classic Maya Late Classic 300–900 CE · Maya (Lakamtuun polity)
Island Maya city on karst lakes: 30 islands linked by causeways with temple islets and raised fields.
🇯🇵 Japan · Hydraulic works
Iron Age (1200 BCE–500 CE) · Iron Age
Circle Jala Aqueduct in Iwate Prefecture, Japan is a Iron Age (1200 BCE–500 CE) hydraulic attributed to Iron Age culture.
🇮🇹 Italy · Hydraulic works
Byzantine (330–1453 CE) · Byzantine
Henge Gallery Aqueduct in Sicily, Italy is a Byzantine (330–1453 CE) hydraulic attributed to Byzantine culture.
🇳🇬 Nigeria · Ancient village
Medieval Hausa (Bakwai period, 9th–15th c. CE) · Hausa (Daura, Hausa Bakwai)
Sacred pondfield where Bayajida slew snake Sarki (Daura origin).
🇨🇱 Chile · Hydraulic works
Harappan (2600–1900 BCE) · Harappan
Old Aqueduct in Coquimbo, Chile is a Harappan (2600–1900 BCE) hydraulic attributed to Harappan culture.
