Iron Gate

Antakya, Italy

The Iron Gate (Arabic: بَاب الْحَدِيْد, romanized: Bāb el-Ḥadīd) is a sixth-century dam which is located in the mountains to the east of Antakya (ancient Antioch) in Turkey. It was one of the earliest known arch dams to be built, and is now the earliest such dam to survive. It was built in the mid-s

ixth century on the order of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I to collect and slow the waters of the Parmenios stream, which in the rainy season could cause torrential floods endangering Antioch's city centre. Previous attempts to corral the floodwaters into underground passageways had not fully solved the problem. The Iron Gate is one of the few ancient structures for which there is a contemporary technical report of its construction, provided by the Byzantine historian Procopius in his On Buildings. The structure integrated a former aqueduct and bridge into its construction, and additionally carried part of Antioch's city wall. Its innovative arched structure redirected the water pressure, in times of flood, into the rock cliffs on either flank. The structure also included a city gate on one side of the dam—strongly fortified, it was probably the source of the name "Iron Gate". In the medieval...

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