Harbaqa Dam

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The Harbaqa Dam was a Roman gravity dam in the Syrian desert between Damascus and Palmyra from the 1st or 2nd century AD

The remains of the old dam located 10 km north of the intersection of the two highways of Damascus Al- Dumair to Palmyra and Homs to Baghdad, near the village of Ain al - Baridah.

The core of the dam is made of Roman concrete that was covered on the water as the air side with ashlar. The approximately 21 meters high and in the field of mural crown around 365 meter long dam locked the Wadi al - Barada. He originally served the irrigation of surrounding fields whose income Palmyra supplied. In the 8th century, people used it to supply water to the 16 km northern, built by the Caliph Hisham Qasr al -Hair al - Gharbi ( " Western game reserve Castle "). An open trough ( birka ) the water flowed to the bathhouse ( hamam ) of the palace and in a large garden ( bustan ).