ABSTRACT
The construction of masonry dams was the forerunner of modern concrete dams and required high engineering skills. The dam constructed in antiquity was gravity, perceiving water pressure with its weight. The idea of using the arched effect by giving the dam a curved shape was expressed by the Byzantine emperor Justinian I, who intended to build a dam in Dara near the Syrian-Turkish border. The arch dam Shah Abbas was erected in the Khorasan Province of Iran 700 years ago during the reign of the Persian Safavid dynasty. The La Sierra de Elche dam built in 1632 in Spain on the Vinadopo River is considered the first arch dam built in Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. The original purpose of this dam was to curb the rivers during floods and torrential rains and the use of accumulated water for irrigation.
