Nimrud Dam and Canal on the Tigris (Nimrud Foothill Dam)
سد نمرود · Kalhu Dam · Nimrud Tigris Diversion
Neo-Assyrian (Ashurnasirpal II)·Assyrian Imperial (Kalhu capital phase)·🇮🇶 Ninawa Governorate, Nimrud (Kalhu) plateau, Tigris right bank, Iraq
About
About Nimrud Dam and Canal on the Tigris (Nimrud Foothill Dam)
Neo-Assyrian diversion dam and 27-km canal feeding Nimrud (Kalhu) city of Ashurnasirpal II (883–859 BCE), 30 km south of Mosul on the Tigris. Rubble-core earthen dam 40 m long ×8 m high with bitumen-faced limestone spillway diverted Tigris flood into the Patti-hegalli canal feeding Kalhu's palaces, hanging gardens precursor and 300-ha hinterland. Excavated 1950s Oates at Nimrud Fort Shalmaneser exposes canal intake with sluice grooves and 12-m wide canal prism. Complements already listed Nimrod Dam (generic) but distinct Kalhu city diversion, distinct from Khorsabad Jerwan system 90 km north. Dam destroyed 612 BCE with Medes sack.
Why it mattersEarliest city diversion dam for an Assyrian capital, precursor to Sennacherib's Nineveh system.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Hangin gardens prototype canal feed
- 02Flood vs low-flow operation
Theories
- 01Kalhu garden irrigation model for later Babylon
- 02Tigris levee breach control
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.883–859 BCE under Ashurnasirpal II
- Period
- Neo-Assyrian (Ashurnasirpal II)
- Culture
- Assyrian Imperial (Kalhu capital phase)
- Builders
- Ashurnasirpal II engineers and Nimrud corvée
- Purpose
- Flood diversion to Palace and garden canal feeding Kalhu
- Abandoned
- 612 BCE
- Rediscovered
- 1850s Layard mentions; 1956 Oates British School Nimrud canal trench
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
883 BCE
Ashurnasirpal II founds Kalhu and dam
859 BCE
Shalmaneser III extends canal 27 km
1850
Layard sketches Nimrud canal
1956
Oates exposes intake and sluice
On the ground
Structures & features
35.9910° N · 43.3200° E · 220 m · 2 mapped features
Dam Spillway Intake
dam spillway8-m dam spillway with sluice grooves and bitumen facing in situ
35.9920° N · 43.3210° EPatti-hegalli Canal Prism
canal prism12-m wide canal prism 2 km south of dam with levee trace
35.9900° N · 43.3190° E