Greek engineers were the first to use
canal locks, by which they regulated the water flow in the
Ancient Suez Canal as early as the 3rd century BC.[1][2][3] The Romans under
Trajan too secured the entrance to the
Red Sea with sluice gates, while they extended the canal south to the height of modern
Cairo in order to improve its water inflow.[4] The existence of ancient
pound locks to bridge height gaps has been proposed by a number of authors,[2][5][6] but in the absence of clear archaeological evidence the question seems to be permanently undecided.[7]
As the older
Ptolemaic channel, which was the first to use
locks,[12]Trajan's canal linked Mediterranean and
Red Sea not directly, but via the Nile. Unlike the Greek channel, though, which branched off the
Pelusiac arm, the Roman canal started off the main branch of the Nile at
Babylon, 60 km to the south. It joined the Ptolemaic dyke at
Belbeis, eventually discharging into the
Gulf of Suez at
Arsinoe.
According to
Procopius for allowing the safe passage past the remains of
Trajan's Bridge which obstructed river navigation; dug on Serbian side (
Kladovo)
Starting from
Lake Avernus near Puteoli, it was intended by Nero to run parallel to Mediterranean; length upon completion would have been 160
Roman miles
To avoid long and dangerous circumnavigation of the
Peloponnese peninsula; several
abandoned building projects in antiquity aimed at replacing
Diolkos trackway; serious work begun by Nero, but aborted after his death
Another ambitious project: would have connected Mediterranean Sea with North Sea via Rhone, Saône, Moselle and Rhine; presupposes capacity to construct
pound locks though, for which there is as yet no certain evidence; yet, plan finally dropped not due to technological reasons, but political intrigues
For facilitating transfer of inland produce to seaside; subject of correspondence between governor
Pliny the Younger and emperor Trajan; would have required to overcome difference in height of 32 m
Froriep, Siegfried (1986): "Ein Wasserweg in Bithynien. Bemühungen der Römer, Byzantiner und Osmanen", Antike Welt, 2nd Special Edition, pp. 39–50
Grewe, Klaus (2008): "Tunnels and Canals", in:
Oleson, John Peter (ed.): The Oxford Handbook of Engineering and Technology in the Classical World, Oxford University Press, pp. 319–336,
ISBN978-0-19-518731-1
Moore, Frank Gardner (1950): "Three Canal Projects, Roman and Byzantine", American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 54, No. 2, pp. 97–111
Schörner, Hadwiga (2000): "Künstliche Schiffahrtskanäle in der Antike. Der sogenannte antike Suez-Kanal", Skyllis, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 28–43
Tudor, D. (1974): Les ponts romains du Bas-Danube, Bibliotheca Historica Romaniae Études, Vol. 51, Bucharest: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, pp. 47–134
White, K. D. (1984): Greek and Roman Technology, London: Thames and Hudson, pp. 110–112; 227–229, table 6
Wikander, Charlotte (2000): "Canals", in
Wikander, Örjan (ed.): Handbook of Ancient Water Technology, Technology and Change in History, Vol. 2, Leiden: Brill, pp. 321–330,
ISBN90-04-11123-9
Further reading
Redmount, Carol A. (1995): "The Wadi Tumilat and the 'Canal of the Pharaohs'", Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 54, No. 2, pp. 127–135
Greek engineers were the first to use
canal locks, by which they regulated the water flow in the
Ancient Suez Canal as early as the 3rd century BC.[1][2][3] The Romans under
Trajan too secured the entrance to the
Red Sea with sluice gates, while they extended the canal south to the height of modern
Cairo in order to improve its water inflow.[4] The existence of ancient
pound locks to bridge height gaps has been proposed by a number of authors,[2][5][6] but in the absence of clear archaeological evidence the question seems to be permanently undecided.[7]
As the older
Ptolemaic channel, which was the first to use
locks,[12]Trajan's canal linked Mediterranean and
Red Sea not directly, but via the Nile. Unlike the Greek channel, though, which branched off the
Pelusiac arm, the Roman canal started off the main branch of the Nile at
Babylon, 60 km to the south. It joined the Ptolemaic dyke at
Belbeis, eventually discharging into the
Gulf of Suez at
Arsinoe.
According to
Procopius for allowing the safe passage past the remains of
Trajan's Bridge which obstructed river navigation; dug on Serbian side (
Kladovo)
Starting from
Lake Avernus near Puteoli, it was intended by Nero to run parallel to Mediterranean; length upon completion would have been 160
Roman miles
To avoid long and dangerous circumnavigation of the
Peloponnese peninsula; several
abandoned building projects in antiquity aimed at replacing
Diolkos trackway; serious work begun by Nero, but aborted after his death
Another ambitious project: would have connected Mediterranean Sea with North Sea via Rhone, Saône, Moselle and Rhine; presupposes capacity to construct
pound locks though, for which there is as yet no certain evidence; yet, plan finally dropped not due to technological reasons, but political intrigues
For facilitating transfer of inland produce to seaside; subject of correspondence between governor
Pliny the Younger and emperor Trajan; would have required to overcome difference in height of 32 m
Froriep, Siegfried (1986): "Ein Wasserweg in Bithynien. Bemühungen der Römer, Byzantiner und Osmanen", Antike Welt, 2nd Special Edition, pp. 39–50
Grewe, Klaus (2008): "Tunnels and Canals", in:
Oleson, John Peter (ed.): The Oxford Handbook of Engineering and Technology in the Classical World, Oxford University Press, pp. 319–336,
ISBN978-0-19-518731-1
Moore, Frank Gardner (1950): "Three Canal Projects, Roman and Byzantine", American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 54, No. 2, pp. 97–111
Schörner, Hadwiga (2000): "Künstliche Schiffahrtskanäle in der Antike. Der sogenannte antike Suez-Kanal", Skyllis, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 28–43
Tudor, D. (1974): Les ponts romains du Bas-Danube, Bibliotheca Historica Romaniae Études, Vol. 51, Bucharest: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, pp. 47–134
White, K. D. (1984): Greek and Roman Technology, London: Thames and Hudson, pp. 110–112; 227–229, table 6
Wikander, Charlotte (2000): "Canals", in
Wikander, Örjan (ed.): Handbook of Ancient Water Technology, Technology and Change in History, Vol. 2, Leiden: Brill, pp. 321–330,
ISBN90-04-11123-9
Further reading
Redmount, Carol A. (1995): "The Wadi Tumilat and the 'Canal of the Pharaohs'", Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 54, No. 2, pp. 127–135