# Harbaqa Dam

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{{Infobox dam
| name                 = Harbaqa Dam<br/>{{Nobold|{{lang|ar|سد خربقة}}}}
| image                =
| image_caption        = 
| dam_type             = G
| dam_crosses          = [Wadi Barada](/source/Wadi_Barada)
| purpose              = Water storage, flood control
| country              = [Syria](/source/Syria)
| location             = [Syrian Desert](/source/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](/source/Roman_Empire) era [Palmyrene](/source/Palmyra) [gravity dam](/source/Dam) in the [Syrian Desert](/source/Syrian_Desert) about {{convert|70|km}} southwest from [Palmyra](/source/Palmyra) on the road to [Damascus](/source/Damascus). The dam, built of rubble, [concrete](/source/Roman_concrete), and dressed with [ashlar](/source/ashlar) stones, dates to the first or second century AD. The dam later was used as a water supply for the [Umayyad](/source/Umayyad_Caliphate) palace of [Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi](/source/Qasr_al-Hayr_al-Gharbi).

==Overview==
The dam was built in the first/second-century AD by [Palmyra](/source/Palmyra). It was restored and used again by the [Umayyad](/source/Umayyad_Caliphate)s in the eighth century for irrigation purposes. It served as a major water supply for the nearby [Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi](/source/Qasr_al-Hayr_al-Gharbi), to which it was connected by a [canal](/source/canal).<ref name=Ger/> The dam collected the seasonal floods of [Wadi al-Barada](/source/Wadi_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](/source/Roman_concrete) core faced on both air and water face with [ashlar](/source/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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Antoine_Poidebard). A more detailed survey and excavation was conducted by a French archaeological team led by [Daniel Schlumberger](/source/Daniel_Schlumberger) in 1938.<ref>Calvet; Geyer, 1992, p. 80.</ref>

== See also ==
* [List of Roman dams and reservoirs](/source/List_of_Roman_dams_and_reservoirs)
* [Roman architecture](/source/Roman_architecture)
* [Roman engineering](/source/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](/source/Maison_de_l'Orient_et_de_la_M%C3%A9diterran%C3%A9e)|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](/source/Institut_fran%C3%A7ais_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

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Harbaqa Dam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harbaqa_Dam) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harbaqa_Dam?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.