The Halabiye Dam (or Zalabiye Dam) is a proposed dam on the

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

Deir ez-Zor Governorate Deir ez-Zor Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Dayr az-Zawr,'' Kurdish'':'' ''Parêzgeha Dêrezor'') is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in eastern Syria, bordering Iraq. It has an area of 33,060 k ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. It will be the fourth and most southern dam on the Syrian Euphrates, after the

Tishrin Dam The Tishrin Dam (; ) is a dam on the Euphrates river, located east of Aleppo in Aleppo Governorate, Syria. The dam is high, and has 6 water turbines capable of producing 630 MW. Construction took place between 1991 and 1999. Rescue excavat ...

, the Tabqa Dam and the

Baath Dam The Freedom Dam (, , ), formerly the Baath Dam, is a dam on the Euphrates, located upstream from the city of Raqqa in Raqqa Governorate, Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Me ...

Project

The proposed location for the dam is the narrow gap in the Euphrates valley northwest of

Deir ez-Zor Deir ez-Zor () is the largest city in eastern Syria and the seventh largest in the country. Located on the banks of the Euphrates to the northeast of the capital Damascus, Deir ez-Zor is the capital of the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. In the 2018 ...

that is created by

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

outcrops on the left and right river banks. It is expected that dry areas will be brought under cultivation with irrigation water provided by the dam. In preparation of this project, the director of the Syrian

Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums The Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums (DGAM); , ) is a Syrian government-owned agency that is responsible for the protection, promotion and excavation activities in all sites of national heritage in the country. The Directorate was e ...

(DGAM) appealed in 2009 to international teams of archaeologists to participate in the rescue excavations of the archaeological sites that would be threatened by the construction of the dam and the flooding of its

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

. These excavations were expected to be carried out between 2010 and 2012. The sites that are threatened are located in the area that is projected to be flooded by the reservoir and in the area where construction works for the dam will take place. Important sites that are threatened include the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

–

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

sites of Halabiye and Zalabiye that were first fortified by the Palmyrene queen

Zenobia Septimia Zenobia (Greek: Ζηνοβία, Palmyrene Aramaic: , ; 240 – c. 274) was a third-century queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Syria. Many legends surround her ancestry; she was probably not a commoner, and she married the ruler of the ...

in the 3rd century CE. The lower town of Halabiye will be partially flooded by the reservoir and the Syrian government is cooperating with the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

(UNDP) and

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

to limit the impact of the dam on this site as well as on Zalabiye. Other threatened sites include

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

Tell Ma’dan and Tell Humeyda with Ubaid,

Uruk Uruk, the archeological site known today as Warka, was an ancient city in the Near East, located east of the current bed of the Euphrates River, on an ancient, now-dried channel of the river in Muthanna Governorate, Iraq. The site lies 93 kilo ...

and Byzantine material. Given the current instability in the region, it can be assumed that the project has been postponed.

References

External links

Note on the proposed dam and its impact on cultural heritage
(in French) {{Euphrates dams , state=expanded Dams in Syria Dams on the Euphrates River Proposed dams Buildings and structures in Deir ez-Zor Governorate

Project

See also

References

External links