24 July 2021

Haddaj Well – Tayma

Haddaj well is believed to have built in the 6th century by Nabonidus and is one of the largest wells in the ancient world. It was built with the intention of alleviating the suffering of the locals by increasing the amount of water and the size of their farms. The well is known to date back at least to the middle of the 6th century BC, during the Babel occupation. In the 5th century BCE, all of Tayma was abandoned and buried, so the well fell into disuse for many centuries until Suleiman al-Gonaim restored it to a functional state. In 1954 King Saud ordered the installation of four large modern pumps to increase the amount of water so every farmer had a well running to his farm. Later, with the use of modern pumping equipment, the farmers of Tayma no longer needed traditional methods, therefore the architectural elements of wellheads and old water withdrawal techniques disappeared. In 1973 HRH Prince Faisal Al-Saud directed the initiative to restore the well at his own expense so that today's visitors still can see it in its original form. Bir Hadaj (Hadaj well) has a diameter of 18 meters and has 40 minhala (a wooden wheel used in the past to draw water from well) by which camels drew water which in turn were driven through canals for irrigation and other purposes.