Sadd el-Arim Secondary Dam — Marib North Spillway
سد العرم الثانوي · Marib Secondary Dam North · Al-Arim North
South Arabian (Sabaean to Himyaritic)·Sabaean Saba and Himyarite·🇾🇪 Marib Governorate, Wadi Adhanah, Marib, 120 km E Sana'a, Yemen
About
About Sadd el-Arim Secondary Dam — Marib North Spillway
344, 1180 m. The 750-m earthen dam with limestone revetment and sluice temple to Almaqah (moon god) with 50 musnad inscriptions held the north distributary, feeding the northern Marib oasis 9600 ha via north canal (subsidiary to south canal). Main dam was 580 m long 4 m high with two sluices; secondary dam breached 570 CE (year of Elephant). German Archaeological Institute (J. Schmidt 1980s–2008) and UNESCO danger 2023 show Yemeni-Sabaean hydraulic state.
Unlike Sadd el-Kafara rubble, Marib secondary is earthen with inscriptional sluice cult.
Why it mattersSouth Arabian hydraulic state exemplar with north-south dual oasis and Sabaean inscriptional hydraulic cult, Sayl al-Arim Qur'anic memory.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01570 breach natural vs sabotage
- 02Sluice temple ritual hydraulics
Theories
- 01Hydraulic despotic state per Wittfogel Marib
- 02Mukarrib priest-king via Almaqah water ritual
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.750 BCE Sabaean; rebuilt 500 BCE–550 CE 6 phases
- Period
- South Arabian (Sabaean to Himyaritic)
- Culture
- Sabaean Saba and Himyarite
- Builders
- Mukarribs and kings of Saba (Yada'ili etc)
- Purpose
- North Wadi Adhanah flood capture feeding north Marib oasis date palm 9600 ha via north canal
- Abandoned
- 570 CE breach (Sayl al-Arim) and South Arabian collapse
- Rediscovered
- 1843 Arnaud; 1950s Harding Crown; 1980s Schmidt DAI
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
750 BCE
Mukarrib Yada'ili dam
570 CE
Great breach year of Elephant
2023
UNESCO WHC danger listing Marib 1700
On the ground
Structures & features
15.3970° N · 45.3440° E · 1180 m · 2 mapped features
North Spillway — South Sluice Temple Inscriptions (Almaqah)
sluice templeSluice temple with 50 Sabaean musnad inscriptions dedicating spillway to Almaqah
15.3980° N · 45.3450° ENorth Spillway — Earth Embankment 750-m and settlement
embankment settlement750-m earthen embankment with stone revetment and north settlement Ton 1950s sondage
15.3960° N · 45.3430° E