All  

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ Mobile

dam

Modern-day view of Kallanai dam in India. Source: Elamaran Elaaa / Adobe Stock

2,000-year-old Kallanai Dam: Timeless Engineering Marvel of the Chola Dynasty

Sometimes, ancient marvels of architecture simply defy all forms of logic. And even after many centuries pass, and the world enters the modern age, we are amazed to see these ancient jewels still...
Kallanai Dam. Source: Elamaran Elaaa / Adobe Stock.

How Ancient Kings Split a River & Fed Millions (Video)

In antiquity, the Chola Dynasty of southern India demonstrated remarkable ingenuity in managing water resources, particularly in the fertile plains of Tamil Nadu . The ancient Chola caves, dating...
Aerial view of the ancient part of Dujiangyan town and irrigation system. Source: D. Kvasnetskyy / Adobe Stock.

Watch Stunning Water Releasing Festival at 2,000-Year-Old Dujiangyan Dam (Video)

In China's Sichuan province, near the city of Chengdu , lies an engineering marvel that has stood the test of time for over two thousand years. Dujiangyan , meaning "dam on the capital city’s river...
The village Vilarinho da Furnas inside the national park Peneda-Geres in Portugal. It is only visible at low water levels. Source: Carlos Caridade/Wirestock Creators/Adobe Stock

The Submerged Village of Vilarinho da Furna and Its Unique History

Sometimes, the need of modern development necessitates that buildings, villages, or even cities need to be abandoned, demolished, or even submerged in water. It certainly isn’t an easy decision for...
The inside of measuring shaft of the Roda nilometer. (Baldiri / CC BY-SA 3.0)

Nilometers: Ancient Egypt’s Ingenious Invention Used Until Modern Times

For thousands of years, nilometers measured the water level of the Nile River during the annual flood season. This, in turn, was used to predict the fortunes of the annual harvest, the taxes to be...
View of the ancient town of Hasankeyf in Turkey.

Hasankeyf No More: Turkish Government Submerges 12,000-Year-Old Town

The destruction of the ancient town of Hasankeyf by the Turkish government has drawn anger and disappointment to many people all over the world. Unfortunately, the submersion of the early...
The ruins of the Ma’rib Dam.

The Ma’rib Dam: An Engineering Wonder of the Ancient World… Torn Apart by Rats?

The Ma’rib Dam is an engineering marvel of the ancient world that is located in central Yemen. This dam is easily one of the finest examples of masonry architecture in the Arabian Peninsula. Local...
Aerial view of an ancient irrigation system discovered in the foothills of Xinjiang, China.

Did Ancient Irrigation Technology Travel Silk Road?

Using satellite imaging and drone reconnaissance, archaeologists from Washington University in St. Louis have discovered an ancient irrigation system that allowed a farming community in arid...
The Nile – Its Fertile Past and Its Imperiled Future

The Nile – Its Fertile Past and Its Imperiled Future

History means looking back. But man must also learn from it or his tenuous grasp on the Earth risks a bleak future – a future that may become dire history only all too soon. This rings especially...
Cataclysmic natural disasters frame indelible human stories.

First Evidence of Legendary Great Flood in China May Rewrite History

David R. Montgomery / The Conversation Modern people have long wondered about ancient stories of great floods. Do they tell of real events in the distant past, or are they myths rooted in imagination...
Ancient Water System in Iran

Archaeologists uncover 5,000-year-old water system in Iran

Archaeologists in Iran made an unexpected discovery during excavations at the Farash ancient historical site at the Seimareh Dam reservoir – a 5,000-year-old water system . The research team is...
Ancient Artefacts Found in Taiping Lake in China

Ancient Artefacts Found in Taiping Lake in China

An underwater archaeology team from the Provincial Institute of Archaeology and the National Museum's Underwater Archaeology Research Center in China have discovered ancient artefacts in Taiping Lake...
Ancient monuments in Hasankeyf

The 12,000-year-old ancient Mesopotamian town of Hasankeyf set to submerged by new dam

Hasankeyf, Turkey, is one of the oldest ancient sites in the world with evidence of human settlement. Dating back 12,000 years, it has been home to virtually every major Mesopotamian civilisation,...
Chinese underwater city - Lion City

The ancient underwater Lion City of China

The Lion City, otherwise known as Shi Cheng, is an ancient submerged city that lies at the foot of Wu Shi Mountain (Five Lion Mountain), now located about 25 – 40 metres beneath the spectacular...
Dujiangyan Irrigation System

The legacy of Dujiangyan: China’s ancient irrigation system

Dujiangyan is the oldest and only surviving non-dam irrigation system in the world, and a wonder in the development of Chinese science. Built over 2,200 years ago in what is now Sichuan province in...