Were there any exceptions to the fact that ancient cities were usually built on or near a water source?

by Bigdoublek
CptBuck

Depends a bit on what you mean by a water source. Ancient settlements in Yemen were able to support themselves based on the collection of monsoon rains in mountain valley dams, cisterns, and underground aqueduct systems. The Marib dam is one such example and is thousands of years old. It's my understanding that these areas would not otherwise have had any significant local water source like a permanent river or natural aquifer.