Publication Date
10th century AH/16th century AD.
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Record ID
monument;ISL;dz;Mon01;30;ar
Library Location
Beni Esgen; Mzab, Algeria
Date
10th century AH/16th century AD.
Notes
The Great Dam of Beni Isgen is called “Ahbas”, and its name has been extended to include the entire surrounding area. The dam is located at the top of the palace, on the course of Wadi Nitissa, at the level of one of the closest distances between the two hills that border the palm grove. The length of the dam reaches 430 meters, its width is three meters at the base and one meter at the top, while its height reaches eight meters. The building was divided into two main sections: The first section took the form of an estuary or distributor, slightly curved along the length over a distance of 77 metres. Along the body of the estuary, 74 vertically placed stones rise, breaking the speed of the water current, and enabling the trustees (the Flood Water Management Committee) to estimate the importance of the floods according to the stones that reached the water level. At the upper limit of this estuary, a monument of a specific height, called locally "the candle", indicates the level of serious floods. If the water reaches the top of this guide, a warning signal is quickly given in order to evacuate the entire palm grove and part of the extension of the palace. The second part of the dam forms the natural reservoir that allows the supply of water bed; This concerns two wells dug at the level of the dam, which facilitate and speed up the supply of water to the bed, thereby reducing the effect of evaporation due to the large area of collected water, especially during the period when temperatures are high.
Sample Text
"Sad" within Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;dz;Mon01;30;ar
