| Sadd-el-Kafara | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Location of Sadd-el-Kafara in Egypt | |
| Location | Helwan, Helwan Governorate, Egypt |
| Coordinates | 29°47′43″N 31°25′55″E / 29.79528°N 31.43194°E |
| Construction began | ~2650 BC |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Embankment, masonry |
| Impounds | Wadi Garawi |
| Height | 14 m (46 ft) |
| Length | 110 m (360 ft) |
| Width (crest) | 56 m (184 ft) |
| Width (base) | 98 m (322 ft) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Sadd-el-Kafara Reservoir |
| Total capacity | ~570,000 m3 (20,000,000 cu ft) Est. |
Sadd el-Kafara ("Dam of the Infidels") was a masonry embankment dam on Wadi al-Garawi 10 km southeast of Helwan in Cairo, Egypt. The dam was built in the first half of the third millennium BC by the ancient Egyptians for flood control and is the second oldest dam of the world, after the Marib Dam in Yemen.[1][2][3] Never completed, the dam was under construction for 10–12 years before being destroyed by a flood. It was rediscovered by Georg Schweinfurth in 1885.[4]
- ^ Fahlbusch, Henning. "Early Dams" (PDF). History Association. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
- ^ "Key Developments in the History of Embankment Dams". SimScience. Archived from the original on August 31, 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
- ^ The Nile and Its Masters: Past, Present, Future: Source of Hope and Anger. CRC Press. 1 January 2001. ISBN 9789058093431. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
- ^ Bard, Kathryn A.; Steven Blake Shubert (1999). Encyclopedia of the archaeology of ancient Egypt. Routledge – Taylor & Francis Group. pp. 1057–1062. ISBN 0-203-98283-5.