Editor: Jérémie Schiettecatte
| Ancient name | Unknown |
| Country | Yemen |
| Geographical area | Dhamār |
| Governorate | Dhamār |
| Kingdom | Ḥimyar |
| Coordinates | Latitude: 14° 26' 23.6" Longitude: 44° 35' 49.52" |
| Coordinates accuracy | certain |
| Type of site | Hydraulic structure |
| Tribe | Yhbs²r |
| Deities | ʾs¹ʾy Hyfʿm |
| Structures | Large hydraulic structure (ex. dam) Rock inscriptions |
| Language | Sabaic |
| Location and toponomy | The site of al-Kawla is located halfway between Dhamâr and Radâʿ, on the southern border of the asphalted road, close to Ihla, 5 km north of Hakir. Coordinates of the ancient dam: N14,43971° E44,59714° Coordinates of the village: N 14,4466° E44,5955° The site is alternatively called al-Kawla, Sadd al-Kawla, maʾjil Kubâs al-Kawla, Ḥayd Maḥaqir. |
| History of research | Late 1990s: the site was recorded within the Dhamar Survey Project (dir. T. Wilkinson) under n° DSF 28. 2004: visit and localisation of the site by the French Archaeological Mission Qatabân (dir. Ch. Robin) Late 2000s: the site was visited by Kh. Numan who found several South Arabian inscriptions (Numan 2012). |
| General description | The site includes a dam located at an altitude of 2269 m. It is formed by a wall 5 m thick that crosses the course of the wâdî for 142 m. Some rock inscriptions have been found by Kh. Numan (2012) close to the village of al-Kawla, in the north piedmont plain of Ḥayd Maḥaqir. Numan mentions 17 rock inscriptions consecrated to the deity ʾs¹ʾy and Hyfʿm incised by some members of the Yhbs²r tribe. |
| Chronology | According to the palaeography, the inscriptions are dated from the 1st to the 3rd centuries AD. |
| south of Hakir (Hkrm) |
| Breton, Robin and Audouin 1981: 39-40 | Breton, Jean-François, Robin, Christian J. and Audouin, Rémy 1981. Nord-Yémen: un patrimoine menacé. Archéologia, 160/Novembre: 36-43. |
| Lewis, Krista 2005 a: 197 | Lewis, Krista 2005. Space and the spice of life: food, politics, and landscape in Ancient Yemen. (PhD, University of Chicago). [Unpublished] |
| Noman 2012: 15, 100-102, 149-150 | Noman, Khaldon 2012. A Study of south Arabian Inscriptions from the region of Dhamār (Yemen). (PhD, Università di Pisa). 2016/05/10; https://etd.adm.unipi.it/theses/available/etd-08112012-151251/. |