Ancient History of the Suez Canal
Perhaps as early as the 12th Dynasty, Pharaoh Senusret III may have had a west-east canal dug through the Wadi Tumilat, joining the Nile with the Red Sea, for direct trade with Punt. Evidence nevertheless indicates its existence at least by the 13th century BC during the time of Ramesses II. It later fell into disrepair, and according to the Histories of the Greek historian Herodotus, Necho II undertook re-excavation about 600 BC, though he never completed the project. King Darius I, the Persian conqueror of Egypt, finally completed the canal about 500 BC. Darius commemorated his achievement on a number of granite slates that he set up on the Nile bank, including one near Kabret, 81 miles (130 kilometers) from Suez. The Darius Inscriptions read:
Saith King Darius: I am a Persian. Setting out from Persia, I conquered Egypt. I ordered this canal dug from the river called the Nile that flows in Egypt, to the sea that begins in Persia. When the canal had been dug as I ordered, ships went from Egypt through this canal to Persia, even as I intended.
The canal was again restored by Ptolemy II about 250 BC. Over the next thousand years it was successively modified, destroyed, and rebuilt, until finally being put out of commission in the 8th century by the Abbasid Caliph al-Mansur.
Explorations Speaker Series lectures
Join Explorations Speaker Dr. Jacqueline Mitton at 11:00 am in the Queen’s Lounge for Heavens Above. Become a stargazer with this leisurely tour around the constellations, with special emphasis on the Zodiac – the celestial Circle of the Sun. At 2:00 pm in the Queen’s Lounge, Dr. Pat Abbott presents The Lost Continent of Atlantis. Tales of the lost continent of Atlantis has captured human imagination for over 2,400 years. When we consider and reconcile ancient literature, archaeological excavations, and geologic history, it seems quite likely that the mystery of Atlantis is solved.
posted by Hills @ 8:30 AM
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