Diversion Dam

This is another of the diversion dams which was built much earlier than the Great Dam. It is located approx. 300m to the east of the Marib Dam in the center of the Dhanah valley. A German archeological expedition found the site in 1988-98 and noted that this dam was built 1000-2000 years before the Great Marib Dam. It was 55m long 30m wide, built with stones as big as 2m which were cemented with lead. However, these attempts were not successful due to the accumulation of sediment and deposits. A solution to the problem was found by using the natural features of the two Bslaq mountains. Thus, the engineering miracle of the ancient irrigation world was realised.