{{Infobox dam | name = Harbaqa Dam<br/>{{Nobold|{{lang|ar|سد خربقة}}}} | image = | image_caption = | dam_type = G | dam_crosses = Wadi Barada | purpose = Water storage, flood control | country = Syria | location = Syrian Desert | dam_length = {{convert|245|m|abbr=on}} | dam_height = {{convert|20|m|abbr=on}} | dam_width_base = {{convert|18|m|abbr=on}} | dam_width_crest = {{convert|6|m|abbr=on}} | construction_began = | opening = | cost = | res_capacity_total = {{convert|5000000|m3|cuyd|abbr=on}} | res_max_width = {{convert|800|m|abbr=on}} | res_max_length = {{convert|1500|m|abbr=on}} | plant_turbines = | plant_capacity = | plant_annual_gen = | location_map = Syria | location_map_size = | location_map_caption = Location in Syria | coordinates = {{coord|34|14|48|N|37|37|38|E|type:landmark|display=inline,title}} | extra = | website = }}
The '''Harbaqa Dam''' or '''Kharbaqa Dam''' ({{langx|ar|سد خربقة}}) was a Roman era Palmyrene gravity dam in the Syrian Desert about {{convert|70|km}} southwest from Palmyra on the road to Damascus. The dam, built of rubble, concrete, and dressed with ashlar stones, dates to the first or second century AD. The dam later was used as a water supply for the Umayyad palace of Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi.
==Overview== The dam was built in the first/second-century AD by Palmyra. It was restored and used again by the Umayyads in the eighth century for irrigation purposes. It served as a major water supply for the nearby Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi, to which it was connected by a canal.<ref name=Ger/> The dam collected the seasonal floods of Wadi al-Barada in a storage basin that could be used all year.<ref name=Butcher>Butcher, 2003, p. 163.</ref> The remains of the dam are well-preserved for lack of quarrying from nearby settlements.<ref name=Ger>Gerster; Trümpler, 2007, p. 364.</ref>
The dam was built out of a concrete core faced on both air and water face with ashlar stones. The wall is around {{convert|18|m}} wide at the base, {{convert|20|m}} high and stretches for {{convert|245|m}} in length.<ref name=Ger/> The dam wall had three outlets. Two outlets were located at the base that allow the torrential water to flow in winter. The third one, terracotta with a smaller diameter, crossed the dam in a steep slope and was located about {{convert|11.20|m}} from the top on the upstream side.<ref name=Schlumberger>Schlumberger, 1939, p. 201.</ref> The former reservoir, now filled with silt, had a capacity of {{convert|5000000|m3|cuyd|abbr=on}} and measured up to {{convert|1500|m}} in length and {{convert|800|m}} in width.<ref name=Ger/>
The dam was first surveyed in 1934 by Antoine Poidebard. A more detailed survey and excavation was conducted by a French archaeological team led by Daniel Schlumberger in 1938.<ref>Calvet; Geyer, 1992, p. 80.</ref>
== See also == * List of Roman dams and reservoirs * Roman architecture * Roman engineering
== References == {{reflist}}
=== Bibliography === {{refbegin}} *{{Cite book | last1 = Butcher | first1 = Kevin | title =Roman Syria: And the Near East | year = 2003 |publisher =Getty Publications| isbn=9780892367153}} *{{Cite book|last1=Calvet|first1=Yves|first2=Bernard|last2=Geyer|title=Barrages antiques de Syrie|year=1992|language=French|publisher=Maison de l'Orient|isbn=2-903264-13-9|url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/mom_0244-5689_1992_mon_21_1}} *{{cite book|title=The Past from Above: Aerial Photographs of Archaeological Sites|first1=Georg|last1=Gerster|authorlink1=Georg Gerster|first2=Charlotte|last2=Trümpler|year=2007|publisher=Getty Publications|isbn=9780892368754|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/pastfromaboveaer0000gers}} *{{cite journal|last=Schlumberger|first=Daniel|authorlink=Daniel Schlumberger|title=Les fouilles de Qasr el-Heir el-Gharbi (1936–38)|language=French|date=1939|journal=Syria|publisher=Institut français du Proche-Orient|volume=20|issue=3|pages=195–238|url=http://www.persee.fr/articleAsPDF/syria_0039-7946_1939_num_20_3_4138/article_syria_0039-7946_1939_num_20_3_4138.pdf|doi=10.3406/syria.1939.4138}}{{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} {{refend}}
{{Roman dams}}
Category:Dams in Syria Category:Ancient Roman dams Category:Gravity dams Category:Buildings and structures in Homs Governorate