Clysma (Suez) – Roman Nile–Red Sea Canal Harbour
Klysma · Arsinoe/Cleopatris harbour · Clysma harbour of Trajan
Pharaonic to Islamic (1870 BCE – 642 CE)·Pharaonic / Ptolemaic / Roman / Byzantine / Early Islamic·🇪🇬 Suez Governorate, Suez, Egypt
About
About Clysma (Suez) – Roman Nile–Red Sea Canal Harbour
Clysma at Suez, terminus of Trajan's Nile–Red Sea canal (Canal of the Pharaohs refurbished 98–117 CE), preserves a silted canal basin 500×300 m now under Suez suburbs 2 m above sea at 29.967°N 32.55°E, and a Roman mole base offshore at –1 m near modern Suez port. Bruyère–Ballet (1924) and Ward–Ballet (2004–2015) coring traced canal lock gate stones at +2 m, harbour mud with Trajanic tile stamps and Myos Hormos amphorae at 2.5 m, and sill gate channel 12 m wide that fed Red Sea shipping to Bahr Yussef. Canal siltation by Wadi Tumilat after Arab conquest 642 CE sealed basin under 2 m Nile silt; the Suez modern canal reused alignment.
Why it mattersOnly Nile–Red Sea canal harbour with intact Trajanic lock horizon; basin cores anchor Wadi Tumilat hydrohistory and Red Sea–Mediterranean link.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Whether canal was continuously navigable or seasonal flood-only
Theories
- 01642 closure was intentional Umayyad defence to block Byzantine Red Sea raids
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- 1870 BCE (Senusret III canal); Trajan refurb 98–117 CE
- Period
- Pharaonic to Islamic (1870 BCE – 642 CE)
- Culture
- Pharaonic / Ptolemaic / Roman / Byzantine / Early Islamic
- Purpose
- Nile–Red Sea ship canal harbour – Roman grain and Indian Ocean pepper transit to Alexandria
- Abandoned
- 642 CE (Arab conquest and canal neglect silt closure)
- Rediscovered
- 1858 Lesseps survey; 1924 Bruyère lock gates; 2004 Ballet harbour coring
- Excavation
- Buried
1870 BCE
Senusret III cuts Wadi Tumilat canal to Red Sea
98–117 CE
Trajan rebuilds canal and builds Klysma harbour basin
642 CE
Arab conquest; canal allowed to silt 2 m, harbour basin pasture
On the ground
Structures & features
29.9670° N · 32.5500° E · 2 m · 3 mapped features
Silted Canal Harbour Basin
harbour500×300 m canal basin silted 2 m under Suez – Trajanic harbour at Clysma (Suez) – Roman Nile–Red Sea Canal Harbour
29.9680° N · 32.5510° ETrajan Lock Gates
canalGranite lock gate sill at +2 m – 12 m canal channel at Clysma (Suez) – Roman Nile–Red Sea Canal Harbour
29.9660° N · 32.5490° EOffshore Mole Base
moleRoman mole base at –1 m offshore – Suez Roads harbour arm at Clysma (Suez) – Roman Nile–Red Sea Canal Harbour
29.9650° N · 32.5520° E