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In a desolate wadi of the Syrian steppe lies the Kharbaqa Dam—an engineering masterpiece built by the Romans in the 2nd century CE to regulate seasonal floods and store up to five million cubic meters of water. The Umayyads later repurposed it to supply Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi. The dam features a Roman concrete core faced with basalt ashlar masonry, while three gated outlets at the base of the wall control overflow. A 2023 German-French study revealed that the dam’s design reflects modern safety standards in its height-to-capacity ratio.
