Kebar Dam — Oldest Surviving Arch Dam (Mongol)
سد کبار قم · Qom Kebar Dam · Kebar Dam Qom · Kabir Dam
Ilkhanid Mongol (1300) to Safavid·Mongol–Persian hydraulic (Rashid al-Din's Jami' al-Tawarikh?), Qom Shi'a·🇮🇷 Qom Province, 23 km southeast of Qom, near village Zanburak/Khowrabad Jannatabad, Kebar River (Kobar) tributary of Qom River, Iran
About
About Kebar Dam — Oldest Surviving Arch Dam (Mongol)
01278). 1300 after Rashid al-Din hydraulic promotion. Stores winter Qom–Kebar flood for Jannatabad orchard and pistachio canal 8 km still partially traced. Oldest arch proof worldwide vs. Jav? but not arch). Arch dam technology predating Europe's arch (Tibi 1594) by 294 yr. zone Essential Tip says first Mongol arch. Studied by Schnitter (1987) as earliest arch. Survives silted but structure 26 m intact. Access via Zanburak village track. ICID Heritage Candidate.
Why it mattersOldest surviving arch dam globally, proving Mongol–Persian invention of arch-dam 294 yr before Europe's Tibi 1594. Schnitter certified.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01How Mongols knew arch hydrostatic vs Roman gravity
- 02Where arch concept imported from — China Song?
Theories
- 01Kebar arch as Rashid al-Din's Chinese–Persian technological transfer via Mongol empire
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.1300 CE Ilkhanid (Ghazan–Öljaitü) first arch; repaired Safavid 16th c.
- Period
- Ilkhanid Mongol (1300) to Safavid
- Culture
- Mongol–Persian hydraulic (Rashid al-Din's Jami' al-Tawarikh?), Qom Shi'a
- Builders
- Ilkhanid minister Rashid al-Din's engineers? Qom province Mongol state
- Purpose
- Qom southeastern orchard irrigation and pistachio before saline Kavir, mongol agricultural restoration post-1221 devastation
- Abandoned
- 16th c. siltation; still used Safavid minimal
- Rediscovered
- 1930 Stein; 1965 Schramm; 1982 Schnitter arch study
- Excavation
- Excavated
1300
Ilkhanid builds Kebar 26-m arch first in world
1594
Tibi Europe's first arch 294 yr later proves Mongol priority
1987
Schnitter certifies oldest arch
On the ground
Structures & features
34.4700° N · 51.0128° E · 1017 m · 2 mapped features
Kebar Dam — 26-m Arch and Spillway
arch26 m high ×55 m wide early arch 1300 Mongol, radius 35 m constant, thickness 9 m base 5 m crest, spring-fed Qom River branch diversion for irrigation
34.4705° N · 51.0130° EKebar Dam — Downstream Qanat Inlet and Irrigated Fields
canal qanatDiversion canal 8 km to Qom orchards and Jannatabad qanat chain feeding 200 ha pistachio before Qom salt desert
34.4695° N · 51.0120° E