Al-Sha‘bani Dam

Al-Sha‘bani Dam is one of the oldest surviving hydraulic structures from the early Himyarite period in Yemen. Built entirely of stone, the dam consists of three parallel walls, each about 10 m high, separated by compacted layers of earth and stone, giving it a storage capacity of approximately 240,000 cubic metres. The structure includes a single outlet connected to an irrigation channel (sāqiyah) that supplies water to the valleys. The channel system incorporates both open-air and subterranean conduits. Remarkably, the dam remains intact and functional, continuing to irrigate agricultural land today, and stands as a representative example of advanced hydraulic engineering developed by the Himyarites in southern Arabia.

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