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©The Archaeological Settlements of Turkey - TAY Project
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Menua Kanali |
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For site maps and drawings please click on the picture...  |
For photographs please click on the photo...  |
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Type:
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Water Construction |
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Altitude:
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m |
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Region:
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Eastern Anatolia |
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Province:
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Van |
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District:
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Gürpinar |
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Village:
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Investigation Method:
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Survey |
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Period:
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Middle Iron Age |
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| The Menua Canal is 51 km long, and it carried fresh water from the Gürpınar Plain, 50 km south of Van as the crow flies to the Van Plain where the capital city of Urartian Kingdom was located. It was surrounded by the hanging gardens built by Menua for his daughter, Tariria. This canal is also known as Samram or Semiramis Canal. The capacity of the Menua Canal was 75 million cubic meters, watering over 5000 hectares of land. The canal functioned continuously for 2800 years. There is no other similar irrigation canal in Anatolia or anywhere in the world. A large portion of the canal passed through limestone lands. Retaining walls were built at points of resistance for water flow. A total of 15 cuneiform inscriptions were erected along the retaining walls and the canal. No other Urartian structure has such a number of inscriptions. Some inscriptions are longer than others. |
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