Yanz of Wadi Sha'am

These storage buildings constructed on a narrow ledge on the mountains in Wadi Sha'am were undetected by visitors for hundreds of years. Beatrice de Cardi was taken to the site just a few decades ago and described these constructions to the outside world. Even today, many visitors to the area cannot locate the collection as it is so well hidden.

The yanz were used up until a few years ago, it is believed, given their condition and the fact some appear to still have farm produce inside. They were evidently used to store farm produce, notably fodder.

Construction of a modern home in the gravel plain below the yanz	Skillful stonework incorporating both wadi stones and cement blocks	Detail of the newly constructed wall	Farmers do not hesitate to trim trees severely despite the harsh climate
One of the wadi's tree-climbing goats!	Yanz perched on the ledge	The yanz (right) blend in with the rock ledge	Stone wall supporting the first row of yanz
None of the stone appears to have been worked	Fields still used located below the rows of yanz	Another view of the terrace below the yanz	View along the lower rank of yanz
There is only room on the ledge for the yanz and a narrow footpath	Doorway to a storage building	Brien studying one of the buildings	View from the ledge down onto the terraces and wadi bed
Several of the yanz are still sealed	Many of the yanz show signs of neglect; roof material has rotted and ceilings have collapsed	Detail of a sealed entrance way	View inside is similar to the house construction at Sili
Exterior detail of yanz shows similarity to the houses located elsewhere in Wadi Sha'am	The yanz were constructed tightly together	A young goat that died inside one of the buildings	A lack of water means these terraces below the yanz are now abandoned
As the ledge disappears, the row of yanz terminates	These terraces presumably provided the fodder once stored in the yanz	View across the wadi bed towards the community at Sili	View down the footpath amid the yanz
View of the fronts of a collection of yanz	Some of the native stone here is stained pink	The yanz suggest a highly organized farming community	There are still goat herds in the area below the yanz
View of the spillway next to the yanz	The interior and exterior of each yanz was covered in mud to seal the buildings	Any flat space was used to construct a building	From less than 100 meters away, the building begin to disappear into the mountain face
A plant struggling to survive amid the boulders of the wadi	View from below the yanz across the wadi towards Sili