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A machine more than 2,000 years old still lifts water today.
The Archimedes screw is a spiral inside a tube. Turn it, and water climbs up the slope. It is traditionally credited to Archimedes in the 3rd century BCE.
Why it matters: It is still used in irrigation and sewage plants — and, run in reverse, as a small hydro turbine.
Archimedes' screw — Archimedes (3rd century BCE)
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One of the highest paved roads in the world was cut through the Karakoram.
The Karakoram Highway links Pakistan and China across the Khunjerab Pass, at nearly 4,700 metres. Built by Pakistani and Chinese engineers and completed in 1979, it cost hundreds of workers their lives.
Why it matters: It remains a lifeline for trade and travel in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Karakoram Highway — Frontier Works Organisation and Chinese engineers (1979)
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One of the world's largest earth-filled dams stands on the Indus.
Completed in 1976, Tarbela Dam is built mainly of earth and rock rather than concrete. It stores Indus water for irrigation and generates hydroelectric power for Pakistan.
Why it matters: Engineers can use local materials at enormous scale to tame a mighty river.
Tarbela Dam — WAPDA (1976)
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
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