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Hīt, also spelled Heet, ancient name 'Is', is an Iraqi city in Al-Anbar province. Hīt lies northwest of Ramadi, the provincial capital. Straddling the Euphrates River, the city of Hīt was originally a small walled town surrounded by a halt moat and built on two mounds on the site of the ancient city of Is. In ancient times, the town was known for its bitumen wells; bitumen from the wells was used in the construction of Babylon over 3,000 years ago, and for tasks such as caulking boats. Hīt also became a frontier fortress for Assyria. Now, Hīt is a marketplace for agricultural produce. Oil pipelines to the Mediterranean Sea cross the Euphrates there. It was regarded as the head of navigation on the river before the decline in river traffic. Hit marks the beginning of the high sedimentary plain on the Euphrates, and it contains a number of hot springs. The city of Heet is also famous for its ancient yet still functioning water wheels (also known as norias, or al-Nawaeer) which used to play an important role in the irrigation of fields and palm groves, particularly when water levels of the Euphrates River receded. The walled town, which had already suffered extensive damage during the Ottoman Empire, was abandoned in the 1920s, leading to its rapid deterioration. [edit] Research Tips
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