Myos Hormos – Quseir al-Qadim Roman Red Sea Harbour
myos-hormos-quseir-al-qadim
Ptolemaic precursor? Then Augustan to Roman (26 BCE – 3rd c. CE; Ayyubid reuse 11th–13th)·Roman Egyptian / Indo-Roman· Red Sea Governorate, Quseir al-Qadim bay, EG
About
About Myos Hormos – Quseir al-Qadim Roman Red Sea Harbour
Augustan foundation 26 BCE by Aelius Gallus as rival to Berenike at northern Red Sea bottleneck nearer Coptos (desert 120 km vs 300 km). Flourished 30 BCE–120 CE (Strabo 2.5.12); harbour lagoon 800 m behind reef with warehouses. Peacock & Blue 1999– excavated. Lagoon silted 0.5–1 m, abandoned by 3rd c. shift back to Berenike.
Why it mattersVerified harbour subsidence/silting marker for Mediterranean sea-level curves.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Harbour mole phasing
Theories
- 01Steady subsidence not quake
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Ptolemaic
- Period
- Ptolemaic precursor? Then Augustan to Roman (26 BCE – 3rd c. CE; Ayyubid reuse 11th–13th)
- Culture
- Roman Egyptian / Indo-Roman
- Builders
- Roman Egyptian
- Purpose
- Augustan Red Sea short-cut harbour — lagoon 800 m behind reef at Quseir, silted 1 m, abandoned 3rd c. for southern Berenike.
- Abandoned
- Abandoned
- Rediscovered
- Survey
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
Ptol
Harbour peak
On the ground
Structures & features
26.1080° N · 34.2840° E · -2 m · 1 mapped feature
myos-hormos-quseir-al-qadim harbour mole
harbourMole at -2 m
26.1080° N · 34.2840° E