- The Coptos to Berenice Roman road was a road in Egypt that connected Coptos on the Nile with Berenice on the Red Sea.
- Camel Caravans carried cargoes at night through the desert and rested in fortified areas with cisterns during the day.
The Road
- Pliny the Elder described this road in Egypt in detail.
- Originally the road was developed by the Ptolemies between Edfu and Berenice.
- Then Vespasian ordered a series of Wells, Fortlets and Cisterns to be built which connected the Coptos to Myos Hormos Roman Road with the Ptolemaic Edfu to Berenice road.
- Berenice itself was surrounded by 10 Fortlets on various access routes, which were built by the Prefect of the Desert Region.
The Cisterns
- Hydreumata
- a Well, sometimes fortified.
- Praesidia
- A square fortlet with round towers at each corner and two defensive towers either side of the entry gate. They were of varying sizes.
- Lacus
- a cistern
The Roman Army
- A Vexillatio of the Legio III Cyrenaica was based at Berenice between 30 BCE-c.35 CE.
- They may have had units defending all the Forts and Inns along the Road from Coptos.
- The remains of intervisible watchtowers on the mountains above indicate the probability that a signalling system also connected the two ports.
Berenice