Kallanai dam (Grand Anicut)
Presa de Kallanai (Gran Anicut)
- Date
- c. century II · confidence low
- Place
- Kallanai, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India
- Credited to
- Karikala Chola (attributed)
- People
- 👤 Karikala Chola100–200
- Field
- Tools
What it is
Rough-stone weir about 300 m long that diverts the Kaveri river towards the delta for irrigation. It is one of the oldest hydraulic works in the world still in use.
The attribution to Karikala comes from Tamil literature; the current structure was heavily reworked by British engineers from 1804.
What it led to
- irrigation of the Kaveri delta, granary of southern India
- reconstruction and study by Arthur Cotton (19th century)