A small town in the Aragón region of Spain was saved from recent floods that killed more than 200 by an ancient Roman dam.
Almonacid de la Cuba, a small town in the province of Zaragoza, Aragón in Spain, was spared from the devastation several other towns around it faced thanks to an ancient gravity dam built by Roman Emperor Augustus more than 2,000 years ago. La Cuba is the tallest dam left in the world by the ancient Roman Empire. The dam went beyond its intended purpose and saved the lives of hundreds.
How an ancient Roman dam saved lives 2,000 years later
Standing about 110 feet tall, the ancient Roman dam sits above the Aguasvivas River. The Romans designed La Cuba to divert water from the river and distribute it evenly across the region of Aragón. La Cuba is considered to be an engineering marvel of the ancient world. While the occupying Muslim empire abandoned it in the 13th century, the dam was eventually re-utilized to divert river water and is still used today.
This ancient dam even exceeded modern structures. While much of the modern infrastructure in Spain failed to keep people safe from the deluge of water faced by many towns, La Cuba stood firm. It went even beyond its purpose of diverting the Aguasvivas River by holding in the waters that could have killed hundreds.
As the heavy rains from the DANA, a Spanish acronym for “high-altitude isolated depression,” poured a year’s worth of rain onto the Valencian region of Spain and the surrounding regions of Aragón, Murcia, and Andalucia, river beds were completely flooded and transported walls of water toward unsuspecting towns that were not warned of the impending danger.
One of those rivers that flooded with the rains was the Aguasvivas River. As tons of rain poured down for eight hours, the flood water rushed toward Almonacid de la Cuba. However, the ancient Roman dam stood its ground and held the waters behind its walls. As La Cuba reached its capacity, it released the excess water down the side, saving Almonacid de la Cuba from devastation.
Spain is recuperating from the devastation caused by the floods. Meanwhile, La Cuba stands as a marvel of ancient engineering. This 2,000-year-old ancient Roman dam successfully protected the town of Almonacid de la Cuba from the worst flood Spain has encountered in the last three decades. While climate change increases the intensity of weather-related disasters, La Cuba is an example of how today’s world can protect its citizens using old means.
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