Heritage Dams: The Arabian Peninsula was not characterized by ...

Al Zaidiah Dam:
It is one of the small dams in the Khyber but with a particular importance. It was built on Al
Zaidiah Strait in the north-east of the Khyber. The approximate length is about 25 meters, its
nearest height is 4 meters and the thickness of the wall is about 8 meters. The dam and the
basin are covered with silt now. The importance of the dam, as well as to the reservoir of the
flood water for agriculture, comes from the inscriptions found in the northern bank of the valley
which oversees the dam. The date of this inscription could be of the first century AH
Dam of Ranon'a Valley:
The dam is attributed to Abdullah Bin Amr Bin Omer Bin Othman Bin Afan (died in Egypt in the
year 96 AH. The dam is located on the Ranon'a Valley to the south of Qab'a scheme (Al Hijir'a
district). It extends along the course of the valley from east to west. The valley is composed of
three related dams with joint total length reaching 83.5 meters. The largest dam in the main
body is located to the west, the length of its side is amounting 47 meters and its width 17.70
meters. The facade of the dam has a drainage hole on the eastern side. There is an inscription
on the rock façade in the eastern side in a poetical text. The history of the dam is estimated to
be between the end of first century and the beginning of the second century AH.
Muawiya Dam in Al Khang Valley:
It is located on the Al Khang Valley to the east of Al Madinah Al Monawarah, 15 km to the east
of Al A'qoul village. The length of the dam is about 30 meters. Its height from the bottom of the
valley until the level of the surrounding area is about 20 meters. The width of the dam’s wall at
the base is about 10 meters. The dam has experienced, in it is midpoint, a collapse as a result of
earthquake that struck the region over ages, in addition to the flash floods in the narrow
corridor of the valley. In the vicinity of the dam there is another longer and lower height dam
which must have been built to reserve more water from the floods that flood the lake of the
first dam. Dam’s foundation stone is found at the top, on which is written the name of Muawiya
bin Abi Sufyan and the names of those who have taken part in the construction of the dam and
their supervisors.
Aothal Dam:
One of the three remaining dams in Mecca, built by Al Hajjaj bin Yusuf Althagqafi in the years 73
to 74 Hijri, in the north of Al Muaisam on the road to Al Esailah Valley. The length of the dam is
abuts 140 meters. Its width reaches 6 meters at the top and it has a hierarchical interface. The
dam is divided into five layers. People who are arriving from Makkah, can see Islamic
inscriptions on the rocks on its left side along its two faces. The inscriptions belong to the
Umayyad period.
Al Madeeq Dam: