Sadd el-Kafara Dam - Wadi Garawi
Old Kingdom c.2700–2600 BCE (Third–Fourth Dynasty)·Old Kingdom Egyptian·🇪🇬 Cairo Governorate, Egypt
About
About Sadd el-Kafara Dam - Wadi Garawi
Sadd el-Kafara (c.2700 BCE) – Old Kingdom's 113m-long, 14m-high masonry embankment dam with 98m base and 500,000 m³ rubble core in Wadi Garawi, 30 km south Cairo. Flood-control embankment with upstream limestone apron cracked in Nile inundation before completion, preserving 5,000-year-old failure debris. Oldest large dam type-site; Deutsches Archäologisches Institut survey.
Why it mattersWorld's oldest large dam (5,000-year-old failed embankment preserving original debris)
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Hydraulic capacity and catchment reconstruction
- 02Construction labor and failure modes
Theories
- 01State hydraulic power basis
- 02Continuous water governance and resilience
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.2700–2600 BCE (Sneferu? era); failed before completion
- Period
- Old Kingdom c.2700–2600 BCE (Third–Fourth Dynasty)
- Culture
- Old Kingdom Egyptian
- Builders
- Old Kingdom corvée labour
- Purpose
- Oldest large dam (113m, 14m high embankment masonry) – Wadi Garawi flood control
- Excavation
- Excavated
c.2700–2600 BCE (Sneferu? era); failed before completion
Initial construction
On the ground
Structures & features
29.7953° N · 31.4319° E · 95 m · 3 mapped features
113m Embankment Dam Core
dam113m-long masonry embankment with 98m base and limestone apron
29.7953° N · 31.4319° EBreach Debris Fan
deposit5000-year-old breach debris fan preserving failed dam outflow
29.7963° N · 31.4324° EWadi Garawi Upstream Catchment
watershedDesert wadi catchment channelling flash floods to dam
29.7933° N · 31.4289° E