Coventina's History Thread: The Canal of the Pharaohs

[Coventina]

Engineers of the Modern era like to pat themselves on the back for their many great achievements.

However, it shouldn't be forgotten that folks in the ancient world were just as clever and enterprising, and with a fraction of the technology!

One of the greatest achievements of the ancient world that gets little attention is the Canal of the Pharaohs, which linked the Nile River with the Red Sea.

It was begun during ancient Egypt's Middle Kingdom by Senusret III in the 19th century BCE!! Of course, it was a huge project that was interrupted many times due to politics and economics.

It was eventually completed by the Ptolmaic dynasty, after the invention of canal locks to keep salt water from leaking into the Nile. The completion date was in the year 274 or 273 BCE.

It remained open for over a thousand years, eventually closed by the Muslim Caliphate in 767 CE.

This is a photo of the Roman-era fort built to protect the canal's entrance on the Nile in Old Cairo

[ProfessorGAC]

1. Very Interesting

[brer cat]

2. K&R I'm enjoying your history thread, Coventina.

[JoseBalow]

3. That Roman-era fort picture looks like an Escher drawing to me

[LoisB]

4. That structure is amazing and beautiful. Thank you Coventina, I did not know (or had forgotten) about the Canal.

Probably did not know.

[crosinski]

5. "It remained open for over a thousand years."

I have trouble imagining anything that old!

[Coventina]

6. The long history of ancient Egypt is truly mind-blowing

Cleopatra lived closer to the invention if Bitcoin than to the construction of the Great Pyramids.

Hard to imagine!!!

[pansypoo53219]

7. PBS series a few years ago. under cairo, under istanbul, under athens.