Ancient site · Other
Great Dam of Marib
Also known as Ma'rib Dam
An ancient earth-and-stone dam across Wadi Adhanah near Marib in Yemen, first built in the 8th century BCE and enlarged many times. By catching the sudden floods it watered about 100 km² of fields that fed the Sabaean kingdom, famous for its incense trade.
Its stone sluices still stand. After repeated breaches it finally failed in the late 6th century CE. The Marib monuments became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2023.
- Dates
- 8th century BCE – c. 570s CE
- Still standing
- Yes
- UNESCO World Heritage
- Yes
- Location
- 15.40° N, 45.24° E
How we know
Sabaean and Himyarite inscriptions record its building and repairs; its final collapse is remembered in the Qur'an.
Nearby sites
- Matara c. 8th century BCE – 7th century CE (approximate; pre-Aksumite to Aksumite)
- Laas Geel c. 3500–2500 BCE (estimated)
- Yeha (Great Temple) temple c. 700 BCE
- Aksum (stelae fields) capital from c. 1st century BCE–1st century CE; great stelae c. 300–400 CE
- Meroë c. 800 BCE – 350 CE; royal pyramids c. 300 BCE – 350 CE
- Dilmun Burial Mounds c. 2200–1750 BCE (main period)