Misconceptions for risks of coastal flooding following the excavation of the Suez and the Corinth canals in antiquity
During antiquity, numerous attempts were made to excavate canals through the Suez (Egypt) and the Corinth (Greece) isthmuses, but these projects were never completed. The main explanation provided by historical sources is the risk of flooding of coastal areas by water flowing through these canals, s...
Enregistré dans:
| Dans: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/mediterranee, |
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| Auteur principal: | |
| Format: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Langue: | Anglais |
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Méditerranée
2009
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| Accès en ligne: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Résumé: | During antiquity, numerous attempts were made to excavate canals through the Suez (Egypt) and the Corinth (Greece) isthmuses, but these projects were never completed. The main explanation provided by historical sources is the risk of flooding of coastal areas by water flowing through these canals, since an up to 10 m difference was assumed to exist at their inlets. Obviously, such considerable elevation offsets which would also render the canals non-navigable due to a continuous flow of water, reported to derive from leveling measurements. Examination of the evidence reveals that such large errors in ancient geodetic surveys are unlikely, but there exist important differences in the tidal ranges and the coastal environments on either side of the two isthmuses. It appears therefore that the impacts of minor water flow from one side of the canal to the other, observed in the modern canals, were exaggerated during antiquity by detractors (especially the risk of flooding), who eventually succeeded in getting the projects abandoned. |
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