Mareb dam
The Marib Dam is one of the oldest dams in the world. It was about 24,000 acres (about 98,000 square kilometers) and was promised by the researchers to the miracle of the history of the Arabian peninsula, but not the only one built by the Sabayis And not the oldest, as the effects showed that the seabees tried to limit the water and benefit from rainfall since the fourth millennium BC, but the famous dam itself dates back to the eighth century BC.
It is one of the most important historical dams in Yemen, in addition to the Jaffina dam.
The dam was built of stones cut from mountain rocks, carefully sculpted, placed on top of each other, gypsum was used to connect the carved stones together, and copper rods and lead rods, each sixteen meters long and about four centimeters in diameter, were placed in stone holes. Combining it with a matching rock so that it can withstand the risk of earthquakes and violent floods. According to archaeological excavations, the dam was exposed to at least four collapses, the latest of which was in 575, and no efforts were made to restore it since then, due to the absence of a central government, insecurity in the country, interference of foreign powers .
Construction of the old dam
There is a difference between the researchers about the construction phase of the "Great Marib Dam". It has undergone several stages and recent archaeological research carried out by the German Institute of Archeology refers to agricultural systems near Marib dating back to the fourth millennium BC, but the famous dam itself dates back to the eighth century BC. remained steadfast and led to his work until 575 AD, some researchers returned to the tenth century BC. The dam suffered several cracks, but its end was in 575 AD because of the absence of a central government, the security chaos in the country, the intervention of foreign powers and the independence of tribal leaders with their feudalism.
In the eighth century, there were texts to indicate the elevation and repairs on the dam, the length of 577 meters and width of 915 meters, twice the Hoover Dam of the United States, and built in the area from which leaks torrents, the dam was able to limit the water and provided holes or doors to allow greater control of the water after Stability in the pelvis. The stones of the dam were cut from the mountain rocks, sculpted neatly and placed on top of each other. Gypsum was used to connect the carved stones with each other and to use cylindrical copper and lead rods, each sixteen meters long and about four centimeters in diameter. Of the stability in the face of the danger of earthquakes and violent torrents was about 24,000 acres (about 98 square kilometers), which means that the people of Yemen have achieved self-sufficiency in terms of their need for water and food, water from the old dam was enough for agriculture and feed their livestock.
The Marib dam is one of the most sophisticated dams in terms of engineering. The engineers examined the nature of the land prior to the construction of the dam, and then built the engineering plan, which is a huge stone wall erected in the blood vessel at the exit of the stream of the valley, and built on the corner of the extinct, extending from the south to the north distance of six hundred and fifty meters, Open and close as needed for the passage of water, including the related waterfalls to irrigate fields, orchards and farms .
Destroy the dam
The destruction of the Marib Dam is a historic event, mentioned in the Holy Qur'an
( لَقَدْ كَانَ لِسَبَإٍ فِي مَسْكَنِهِمْ آيَةٌ ۖ جَنَّتَانِ عَن يَمِينٍ وَشِمَالٍ ۖ كُلُوا مِن رِّزْقِ رَبِّكُمْ وَاشْكُرُوا لَهُ ۚ بَلْدَةٌ طَيِّبَةٌ وَرَبٌّ غَفُورٌ، فَأَعْرَضُوا فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ سَيْلَ الْعَرِمِ وَبَدَّلْنَاهُم بِجَنَّتَيْهِمْ جَنَّتَيْنِ ذَوَاتَيْ أُكُلٍ خَمْطٍ وَأَثْلٍ وَشَيْءٍ مِّن سِدْرٍ قَلِيلٍ )
This resulted in the failure of the irrigation system, which led to the migration of up to 50,000 people from Yemen to other parts of the Arabian Peninsula .
Modern Dam
In late 1986, the late President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan announced his donation to rebuild, rehabilitate and expand the Marib Dam, with a total area of 30 km2, 400 million cubic meters of water and about 16,000 hectares of land.
In 2003, work began on the second phase of the project of rehabilitating the Marib dam with a length of 69 km at a cost of 23 million and 910 thousand US dollars, funded by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development .
Civil War 2015
UNESCO said it had received information about damage to the walls of the Old Marib Dam on May 31, 2015, following an air strike by coalition aircraft carrying out military operations against the Huthis, but tribal sources confirmed to the BBC that the reports of the Marib dam were not correct. Houthis and forces loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh installed a Katyusha rocket platform at the top of the dam to bomb the city of Marib and the resistance sites, but the dam was not subjected to air raids .
Some pictures of the dam :
