Sadd al-Arim Secondary North Dam Marib
سد العرم الشمالي - مأرب · North Secondary Marib · Arim North Dam
Sabaean to Himyarite·Kingdom of Saba·🇾🇪 Marib Governorate, Wadi Adhanah catchment, Jufaynah north saddle, 4 km NE of Great Dam, Yemen
About
About Sadd al-Arim Secondary North Dam Marib
North saddle subsidiary dam of the Marib hydraulic complex, 210 m long, 8 m high, sealing the Jufaynah wadi overflow saddle 4 km northeast of the Great Dam, part of the Sabaean sayl (flash-flood) catchment engineering that fed the 9600 ha Marib oasis by storing Jufaynah tributary flood when Dhana main wadi was in spate. The saddle dam with limestone-plastered upstream face and Sabaean inscription fragment (CIH 623) illustrates the Sabaean hydraulic system as distributed micro-dams rather than single monumental wall.
Why it mattersSaddle component showing Great Marib as distributed catchment system not monolith, key for Sabaean hydraulic network theory.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Synchrony with Great Dam phases
- 02Jufaynah vs Dhana phasing
Theories
- 01Sabaean catchment engineering network
- 02Saddle dam labour vs monumental dam
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.700 BCE (Sabaean, Yada`il to Himyarite repairs)
- Period
- Sabaean to Himyarite
- Culture
- Kingdom of Saba
- Builders
- Sabaean mukarribs (Hydraulic corps)
- Purpose
- Catchment saddle storage — Jufaynah overflow regulation for Great Dam oasis
- Abandoned
- c.570 CE with Great Dam breach
- Rediscovered
- 1952 Phillips Jufaynah; 2005 Brunner Marib hinterland hydraulics
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.700 BCE
Saddle dam construction with Great Dam system
c.400 CE
Himyarite upstream plaster repair
1952
Phillips Jufaynah record
On the ground
Structures & features
15.4200° N · 45.2850° E · 1105 m · 2 mapped features
North Saddle — Main Earthfill Wall
hydraulic210-m earthfill crest 8 m high with 40-m central breach and upstream gypsum plaster patches
15.4210° N · 45.2860° ENorth Saddle — Inscription Retaining Wall
inscriptionLimestone retaining wall with Sabaean inscription fragment CIH 623 at north abutment
15.4190° N · 45.2840° E