Qasr al-Hayr Upper Spring Canal — Palmyra Steppe Upper Bisayta Canal
Upper Bisayta Canal · Qasr al-Hayr Upper Canal
Umayyad (727 CE Hisham)·Umayyad·🇸🇾 Homs Governorate, Palmyra Steppe, Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi upper spring 6 km NE of Gharbi palace, Syria
About
About Qasr al-Hayr Upper Spring Canal — Palmyra Steppe Upper Bisayta Canal
Upper spring canal 6 km northeast of Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi palace (620 m) feeding into main Gharbi 11-km canal (already in DB as qasr-al-hayr-al-gharbi-canal). Upper spring is bisayta artesian spring captured by Ummayyad dam 3.8 m high 85 m crest (limestone rubble), canal 1.8 km x 1.5 m wide with 0.12% gradient cut through steppe gypsum. Sauvaget 1939 and later Genequand 2008 shows Upper Canal adds 0.9 L/s to Gharbi system total 2.8 L/s, irrigating 35-ha Ghouta-like garden extension NE of palace.Channel slab-covered (ghorfa) for evaporation control.
Why it mattersKey hydraulic illustrating Umayyad hydraulic/geoglyph/kite/kurgan tradition in Homs Governorate, Palmyra Steppe, Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi upper spring 6 km NE of Gharbi palace.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Slab-covered evaporation control uniqueness
Theories
- 01Upper spring as Gharbi capacity augmentation under Hisham
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.727 CE (Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik)
- Period
- Umayyad (727 CE Hisham)
- Culture
- Umayyad
- Purpose
- Upper spring feed canal augmenting Qasr al-Hayr Gharbi canal system (Gharbi 11 km canal already in DB)
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.727 CE (Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik)
Initial construction
2020
Drone/UAV high-resolution mapping and heritage inventory
On the ground
Structures & features
34.4200° N · 37.8500° E · 620 m · 4 mapped features
- Upper Bisayta Spring Dam (85 m)dam85-m limestone rubble dam 3.8 m capturing artesian spring34.4210° N · 37.8510° E
- Upper Canal 1.8 km Slab-Coveredaqueduct1.8-km 1.5-m slab-covered canal at 0.12%34.4210° N · 37.8510° E
- Confluence with Gharbi Main CanalhydraulicConfluence junction adding 0.9 L/s to Gharbi system34.4190° N · 37.8490° E
- Ghouta Extension Garden 35 halandscape35-ha irrigated garden extension NE of palace34.4180° N · 37.8480° E