Wiki Categories: Map Features

Palmyra

  • The Ruins of Palmyra are a Unesco World Heritage Site and are located next to the city of Tadmor in Syria, 150 miles (240km) northeast of Damascus. It was in the Roman Province of Syria.
  • Palmyra was built in an oasis on the Caravan Route through the Syrian Desert between Damascus and the Euphrates.

History

  • Palmyra was known as ‘The Bride of the Desert’, and also as ‘Tadmur’ in Antiquity.
  • The name was derived from the fact that, every evening, the rays of the setting Sun transforms the light on all the buildings into a wonder of yellows, golds, pinks and blues, like a Bride getting dressed for her wedding.
  • Due to its position in between the Persian Empire and the Roman Empire, it dominated the Silk Road.
  • Palmyra was conquered by Rome in 14 CE and became the eastern outpost with the Persian Empire.
  • Under Tiberius (14-37 CE), Palmyra became part of the Province of Syria.
  • In 129 CE Hadrian visited Palmyra, and gave it the status of a Free City, renaming it ‘Palmyra Hadriana’.
  • The Architectural ornamentation of the city is a synthesis of Roman and Persian styles.
  • It retained relative independence under the Roman Empire, but between 260-273 CE it declared independence and became the Palmyrene Empire under Queen Zenobia.
  • Aurelian reconquered the city and eventually sacked it.

Roman Sites

  • Colonnaded Street
    • An impressive colonnaded street over 0.5 mile (1km) long links all the public monuments and is crossed by other colonnaded streets.
  • Temple of Ba’al
  • Diocletian’s Camp
  • Theatre
  • The Agora
  • other Temples
  • urban housing.
  • Roman Aqueduct (located outside the city walls)
  • Necropolises (located outside the city walls)

Museums

  • Archeological Museum of Palmyra
    • The Museum holds some of the Finds from Palmyra, others are in the National Museum of Beirut or are distributed amongst Museums around the world.
    • Some damage to the Site occurred during the occupation in 2015 CE by forces of ISIL.

Roman Roads

 

Palmyra, Syria

Jet

  • Jet, also known as ‘Black Amber’, is a type of lignite, or brown coal, usually formed from fossilised Peat.
  • It has electro-magnetic properties when rubbed. It was used in Amulets and Talismans throughout the Ancient World.

Description

  • Jet was very popular during the Roman Period.
  • Jet itself is a fossilised wood, which comes from the same family as the Monkey Puzzle Tree.
  • Pliny the Elder (23-79 CE) described Jet as having magical properties and a being used by magicians.

Whitby

  • It was found on the beaches of Whitby in Yorkshire, and under the Romans, it was worked into Jewellery at York.
  • Jet was then exported from York throughout the Roman Empire.

Museums

Stones with similar Properties

 

Whitby Beach

Corinth

  • Corinth is a Port city located on the western side of the four mile wide Isthmus of Corinth in the Region of Corinthia in southern Greece. It is noted for the Corinth Canal built in 1893 CE.
  • After the occupation by Rome in 146 BCE, it became an important Port city of the same name and the capital of the Roman Province of Achaea.

History

  • The modern city is built 2 miles (3km) northeast of Ancient Corinth when it was destroyed by an earthquake in 1858 CE.
  • Ancient Corinth is an archeological site that is currently under excavation.
  • Ancient Corinth had two ports, Lechaeum on the Gulf of Corinth and Cenchreae on the Saronic Gulf.
  • In November 365 CE, Corinth was destroyed by the earthquake, and by another in 375 CE and then destroyed again by the invasion of Alaric in 396 CE.
  • It recovered when it was rebuilt by the Byzantine Empire, but was hit by another earthquake in 856 CE. It became a regular target during the Crusades (1095-1291 CE), and was finally destroyed and abandoned after an earthquake in 1858 CE.

Archeological Site of Ancient Corinth

  • Temple of Apollo
  • Roman Road (led to the harbour)
  • Roman Agora
    • Fountain of Peirene
    • Bema, where in 52 CE, Paul the Apostle defended himself in front of Gallo, the Roman Governor.

Museums

  • Archeological Museum of Ancient Corinth
    • Located in the Archeological Site of Ancient Corinth
    • The museum holds Roman mosaics and pottery excavated from the site.

The Diolkos

  • Ships arriving from Italy and the Adriatic Sea, entered the Corinthian Gulf and at Corinth were pulled out of the water and pushed along a four mile road called the Diolkos. Ships from the Aegean moved in the reverse direction.
  • The merchant ships were transported across the four mile wide isthmus in a giant cart on this road with ruts to steer the wheels. It was a type of early railway.
  • The Diolkos saved several days sailing around the notoriously dangerous coasts of the Peloponnese. In particular, Cape Matapan and Cape Malea, which were known hazards to sailing ships.

Corinth Canal

  • The Corinth Canal is a 4 mile (6km) canal that connects the Adriatic Sea with the Aegean Sea. It is only 70 feet (21m) wide at the base and was completed in 1893 CE. The canal is too narrow for modern commercial shipping and is now used mainly by tour boats.
  • However, in 67 CE, a Roman canal parallel to the Diolkos was started by Nero, but work ended when he died in 68 CE, and it was never completed.

 

Peirene Fountain. Ancient Corinth

Sahara

  • The Sahara is a desert that covers most of North Africa and is approximately the same size as China.

Geography

  • Area:
    • The Sahara starts from the Atlantic Coast, and continues across North Africa to the Red Sea, occasionally reaching the Mediterranean Sea.
  • Interior:
    • It is a desert area in the Interior, separating the North African Coastal Nations from the Central African Countries below it.
  • Southern Limit:
    • The southern limit of the Sahara is the Sahel, an East-West band of Tropical Savanna produced by an annual summer Rainfall.

Terrain

  • Sand dunes
    • The terrain consists of Sand dunes which can reach a height of 590 feet (180 m).
    • Great Sand Sea
      • This is the Sahara Desert from the Qattara Depression in western Egypt to eastern Libya, but only 7% of its area consists of Dunes.
      • The Dunes cover an area about 185 miles (300km) by 400 miles (650 km).
    • Erg of Bilma
      • This is a Sand Sea in the Fezzan located in Niger.
  • Rocky Plateaux
  • Fezzan
    • The Fezzan is an area of the Sahara, located in southern Libya and Niger.
  • Maghreb
    • The Maghreb is a term used to describe modern Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya, but not Egypt.
  • Qattara Depression
    • The Qattara Depression is one of several Depressions.
    • It is below sea level, with its lowest point at 436 ft (133m) below sea level, and is located in the northwest of Egypt, forming part of the Western Desert.
  • Mountain Ranges
    • There are Mountain Ranges, the Saharan Atlas Mountains and the Tibesti Mountains in southern Libya and northern Chad.
    • The highest point in the Tibesti and the Sahara is Mount Emi Koussi with a height of 11,302 ft (3,445m).
  •  Rivers
    • There is only one river which continues to flow all year round through the Sahara, which is the Nile. Other rivers exist but they are only seasonal.
  • Oases

The Earth’s Tilt

  • The Sahara goes through long cycles of no rainfall to mild rainfall, due to the Earth’s Axis being tilted, which varies between 22° to 24.5 ° every 41,000 years.
  • Around 7,000 BCE the Sahara received more Sun when the tilt was stronger, which caused a greater heating, and so drew moist Monsoon winds into the interior, causing Rainfall.
  • By 4,000 BCE the tilt had lessened, the monsoons had withdrawn and the Sahara had returned to being a Desert.

Weather

  • Rainfall:
    • Half the Sahara receives less than 20mm of Rainfall per annum.
    • The other half receives up to 100 mm of Rainfall per annum.
    • Rainfall occurs as very brief but concentrated downpours.
  • Snow
    • The Algerian Saharan Desert has occasionally received snowfall, although it quickly melts.
    • The Tahat Peak in Southern Algeria receives snow every three years.
    • The Peaks of the Tibesti Mountains which are over 8,200 ft (2,500m), receive snow on average every seven years.
  • Sandstorms
    • Sandstorms occur in the Sahara Desert and in other desert regions including the Arabian Peninsular. They are known as a Haboob.
    • The Sandstorm is characterised by its sudden onset, appearing as a wall of solid clouds, where the sun becomes obscured, visibility drops to a few feet or metres, and high winds arise.
    • The leading edge of the sandstorm can be a wall of sand up to one mile (1.6km) high. Heavy objects can be picked up in the high winds and dropped.

Garamantes

  • The Garamantes occupied the region below Tripolitana, and controlled all the Trans Saharan Caravan Routes to the Central African Kingdoms.

Camel Caravans

  1. ‘The Way of the Forty’
    • Darb el-Arba Caravan Route meaning ‘the Way of the Forty’, took 40 days from Kobbei in Darfur, Sudan, via the Kharga Oasis and Wadi Howar in the Libyan Desert and into Egypt.
    • The Romans built a chain of mud brick Forts to protect the Route.
  2. Timbuctu to Morocco and Algeria
    • From Mali in Africa, a Medieval Salt Road from Timbuctu ran across the Sahara to Morocco until the 1950’s.
    • It ran to Algeria via Tuat.
    • Thousands of Camels were deployed in the caravan.
  3. Tripoli to Lake Chad
    • From Tripoli in Libya, via Murzuk to Lake Chad, in southeastern Chad.
    • This route operated during the Roman Period.
  4. Benghazi to Wadir
    • From Benghasi in Libya, via Kufra to Wadai in southwestern Chad.
  5. Tunis to Kano
    • A Medieval Route ran from Tunis via Ghat, the Mountains of Air to Kano in Nigeria.

Other Camel Caravan Routes

  1. King's Highway in the Levant
  2. Incense Road in Arabia

 

The Sahara Desert

Roman Wine

  • Wine was considered to be part of a healthy diet and had a medicinal, social and religious role in Roman Society. It has been estimated that every person in the Roman Empire would have consumed a bottle of wine every day.
  • In vino veritas meaning ‘In wine there is truth’ is a quote by Pliny the Elder.

The Origins of Winemaking

  • China holds the earliest evidence (7,000 BCE) of a fermented drink based on a mix of wine and rice.
  • Evidence has also been found of regular wine production in Georgia (6,000 BCE), Azerbaijan (5,000 BCE), and Greece, Sicily and Armenia (4,500-4,000 BCE).
  • In Greek Mythology it was Dionysus, the son of Zeus, who invented wine and was known as the God of wine. The Gauls were making wine 500 years before Gaul became a Roman Province.
  • In Roman Society, wine was considered to be part of a healthy diet and had a medicinal, social and religious role. It has been estimated that every man, woman and slave would have consumed a bottle of wine a day.
  • Consequently, the Romans perfected the art of winemaking and wrote in great detail about their methods.

Wine in Roman Society

  • Wine was drunk on a daily basis by men and women in all social classes of Roman Society including slaves.
  • As the Roman Empire expanded out of Italy, viticulture was developed in many of the occupied Provinces, and in particular, Gaul, Hispania, Germania and Britannia.

Roman Festivals

  • Wine had an important role in Roman Festivals, particularly:
    • Bacchanalia, Liberalia and the Dionysian Mysteries.
    • Vinalia Prima (23rd April) held to sample the previous year’s vintage.
    • Vinalia Rustica (19th August) held to celebrate the grape harvest.

Sparkling Wine

  • The Poet Lucan described the technique for making ‘Bullulae’, the Roman word for sparkling wine, known as Spumante in modern Italian.
  • He described how the Roman wine producers of Campania created an expensive sweet sparkling wine full of bubbles by introducing a sweet grape must into a mature wine which produced a secondary fermentation.
  • Lucan wrote that the sparkling wine was served at a Banquet attended by Julius Caesar and Cleopatra.

Roman Writers

Vineyards in Italy

  • The best wines came from Wine Estates in Italy.
  • ‘First Growths’
    • There was even a system of first growths similar to today’s ‘grand cru’ in French vineyards, discussed by Pliny the Elder.
  • Pompeii
    • Very large wine estates existed around Pompeii.
    • Stamps on Amphorae from Pompeian Wine Merchants have been found from Narbonne to Bordeaux.
    • The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE, caused a major scarcity in wine production and an upsurge in wine prices.
  • Rome
    • Wine was also grown in estates around Rome, on the River Po, in Tuscany and on the Adriatic.

Vineyards in the Provinces

  • In the Provinces wine was grown on estates in Sicily, Gaul, the Moselle, the Rhine, Spain, Portugal and Britannia.
  • Beaumes de Venise
  • Jerez
    • Wine from Jerez in Spain was described by Martial.

Modern recreations of Roman wines

  • Mas des Tourelles in Beaucaire, France, is the site of an ancient Roman vineyard which has been recreated and produces Roman style wines.

 

The wine estates around Pompeii

Carnuntum

  • Carnuntum was a Roman Legionary Fortress founded in c.50 CE, whose ruins are located at Petronell-Carnuntum in Austria.
  • It became the Capital of the Province of Pannonia Superior in the 1st century CE.

History

Roman Site and Museum

  • Carnuntum Archeological Park
    • The Park holds the Remains of the Roman Fortress.
    • House of Lucius
    • Palace Remains
    • Amphitheatre Remains (which seated 25,000 spectators)
    • Heathen’s Gate or Heidentor (Roman Triumphal Arch: 361 CE)

Museums

  • Museum Carnuntinum
    • Located in the village of Bad Deutsch-Altenburg.
    • It holds the Finds from Carnuntum.

 

 

Carnuntum Archeological Park

Aquileia

  • Aquileia is a port town in Italy on the edge of the Lagoons on the River Natiso, a few miles from the Adriatic. It is in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region of Italy and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  • It was founded as the port of Aquileia by the Romans in c.181 BCE and has retained the same name. It was located in Italia. It is one of the largest Roman cities to have been excavated, which had a population of 100,000 in the 2nd century CE.

History

  • It was the Terminus of the Amber Road from the Baltic.
  • In 181-180 BCE Aquileia was founded as a Roman Colony.
  • Its purpose was to be a Frontier Fortress for northeastern Italy, a Civic Centre for the Veneti Tribe and to control the Amber Trade into the Adriatic.
  • In circa 90 BCE it became a Municipium.
  • By the second century CE it had a population of 100,000.
  • In 168 CE the city was used as the Base for the Marcomannic Wars (168-180 CE) by Marcus Aurelius.

Roman Sites

  • The Archeological Remains of Aquileia
    • The city Remains can be seen in the three museums, the National Archeological Museum of Aquileia, the Paleochristian Museum and the Civic Museum of the Patriarchate.
    • It is the largest Roman City to have been excavated and is a Unesco World Heritage Site.
  • Aquileia cathedral
    • Built over a Roman Site, the cathedral floors hold Roman Mosaics.

Museums

  1. Aquileia National Archeological Museum
    • Via Roma, 1, 33051 Aquileia.
    • The Museum holds over 2,000 inscriptions, statues, mosaics, coins, glassware and other artefacts.
  2. Paleochristian Museum
    • A Museum built over the site of the early Christian Basilica of Fondo Tullio with mosaic floors.
  3. Civic Museum of the Patriarchate
  4. Archeological Area and Patriarchal Basilica of Aquileia (4th century CE)
    • This site holds the Remains of the Roman Forum. The floor of the Basilica holds a rare collection of well preserved and intact Roman mosaics.

Roman Roads

 

Aquileia National Archeological Museum

Red Sea

Origin of the Name

  • The name is derived from the Greek ‘Erythra Thalassa’, meaning ‘Red Sea’. which included the Arabian Sea.
  • Red is the colour which is produced by a type of bacteria in the Arabian Sea and associated Gulfs, which is visible to the eye, and can develop into ‘blooms’ stretching for hundreds of miles, lasting several months.

1. Ancient Red Sea Ports

Egypt

    • Ptolemy mentions six Red Sea Ports in Egypt. These were, running north to south:
      1. Clysma: (near Suez) In the fourth century CE, Clysma replaced Myos Hormos and Berenice.
      2. Philoteras:
      3. Myos Hormos: was the major Port with a very large Harbour protected by Moles, and plenty of ship building and repair facilities.
      4. Albus Portus:
      5. Nechesia:
      6. Berenice: this was first Egyptian Port for unloading cargos by the Red Sea Fleet on the return journey from India. Myos Hormos was another five days sail to the north.

Arabia

      1. Jeddah: in Arabia, was then a small Port half way down the Red Sea, once visited by Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE) which may have been a stopping point for fresh water for the Red Sea Ships.
      2. Ocelis: in Yemen, just before the Bab al Mandeb Strait. This was the first stopping point for ships from Egypt en route to India. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea says it took 40 days from Ocelis to Muziris.
      3. Aden: in Yemen was ‘Eudaemon’, mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, originally a port of transhipment, but was already being bypassed by the long distance Red Sea Fleets in the first century CE. It was built in the crater of an extinct volcano.

Ethiopia

      1. Adulis: During the first century CE, King Zoskales ruled from Aksum. He controlled Adulis mentioned by Pliny the Elder as a port trading in Ivory, Hides and Slaves. The Aksumite Empire used Adulis for its base as a Sea Power. In 525 CE it invaded the Himyarite Kingdom from this base.
      2. Dahlak Archipelago: Adulis controlled the Pearl fisheries of the Dahlak Archipelago, whose pearls were famous in the Roman Empire along with its Tortoiseshell.
      3. Assab: Located closer to the Bab el Mandeb.

2. The Geography of the Red Sea

  • The Red Sea is a long narrow Sea running diagonally from North North West to South South East.
  • It is 1,200 miles (1930 km) long by 167 miles (270 km) wide.
  • At the northern end, is the shallow Gulf of Suez to the west, and the deeper Gulf of Aqaba to the east.
  • In the southern half, the coastal shelf extends far out and is only 164 ft (50m) deep, although the centre is deeper at over  9,840 ft (3,000 m). The southern half of the Red Sea also has many islands.

Coral Reefs

    • There are 1,240 miles of Coral Reef along the coasts, which are between 5,000-7,000 years old. Amongst the fish on the Reefs lives the Seahorse.

Mangrove swamps

    • There are forests of Mangrove trees along both coastlines of the Red Sea, in Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. These lie between the tidal reaches of salt water often around a river outlet or an island. They support a rich marine life and protect coral reefs. They were mentioned by Pliny the Elder.

Dahlak Archipelago

Locusts

    • Both coastlines of the Red Sea can be breeding grounds for Desert Locusts.
    • Huge swarms of Locusts from Africa regularly cross the Red Sea carried by the winds to Arabia, flying by night at an altitude of up to 6,000 feet.

Tides

    • The North – Gulf of Suez: The Tidal Range is 2 feet (0.6 m)
    • The Centre – The Jeddah Area: Almost no Tidal Range: 6 inches (0.2 m) to 1 foot (0.3 m)
    • The South – Gulf of Aden: The Tidal Range is 3 feet (0.9 m)

The Currents and Winds

    • Due to evaporation there is a permanent inflow of water from the Gulf of Aden, producing a northerly surface current up both coasts of the Red Sea.
    • Evaporation causes the water to have a high salinity and become dense. This dense water becomes a deep outflow back into the Indian Ocean.
    • To replenish all this lost water, there is both a deep and a surface inflow from the Indian Ocean. But at various times of the year, local winds alter the surface currents.
    • In the northern half of the Red Sea, although the predominant winds are from the North West, the surface currents run north along both coasts, between 1.5 to 2 knots, in the opposite direction to the wind.
    • In the southern half of the Red Sea, the Northwesterly winds produce a southerly outflowing surface current, during the summer period from June to mid-September. This enabled the vessels departing to India in July, to descend the Red Sea and exit into the Gulf of Aden.
    • But in the Winter period, the winds reverse during December to March, and the surface current becomes a northerly inflow. This enabled the vessels returning from India in January, to enter the Red Sea from the Gulf of Aden, and sail back up towards Egypt.

3. Navigation of the Red Sea

  • In the northern Red Sea the all year round prevailing winds are from the Northwest, enabling vessels to sail south.
  • In the Southern Red Sea, during the winter period December to March, the prevailing winds reverse and blow from the Southeast as far as the border between Somalia and Ethiopia.
  • An ancient sailing ship could only sail up to 60 degrees into the prevailing wind, so it must either have
    the wind blow from behind it, or from on its beam, or get taken by the current.

Trajan's Canal

    • Trajan’s Canal provided another Route from the Nile near Cairo, via the Bitter Lakes to the Red Sea at Arsinoe. This could only operate for a few months of the year when the Nile was in Flood, and therefore the water level was higher than that of the Red Sea. The Romans knew that if they allowed the Red Sea in along the canal and into the Nile, salt water would ruin the Nile Delta.
    • During the fourth century CE, Myos Hormos and Berenice ceased to operate as trading ports, and Trajan's Canal appears to have become the main trade route for ships to India.
    • circa 300 CE, Diocletian rebuilt Fort Babylon on the Nile, which seems to have acted as a fortress and warehouse complex for water based trade between the Nile and the Red Sea.

Suez Canal

    • Today, the Suez Canal runs through the Bitter Lakes, connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea. There are no locks, and sea water and fish flow freely along the canal between the two Seas.

The Northern Red Sea

    • In the northern Red Sea there is a northerly current running along the coast of Egypt and another northerly current flowing along the coast of Saudi Arabia. This runs anticlockwise around the top, from Saudi Arabia and returns south to meet the northerly Egyptian current, forming a Gyre or rotating water mass.
    • This made it difficult for sailing ships to reach the Gulf of Suez, so Berenice and Myos Hormos were positioned where the northerly current ends, even though this meant a difficult journey across the eastern deserts to the Nile by Camel Caravans.

The Southern Red Sea

    • In the southern Red Sea the surface Current is affected by the prevailing wind:
      • During the summer, from June to mid-September, the north westerly winds create a southerly surface current for four months flowing out into the Gulf of Aden, through the Bab el Mandeb. Although, deep below, there is an inflow from the Gulf of Aden.
      • The Red Sea Fleet usually left in June or July, taking advantage of the combined wind and current to help their journey south.
      • During the winter, between October and March, the Monsoon has the effect of reversing the wind to flow from the Southeast. This reverses the surface current, which becomes northerly as water from the Gulf of Aden flows in.
      • The Red Sea Fleet returned in December or January using the southeasterly wind and current to help them sail into and up the Red Sea.

Bab el Mandeb Strait

4. Ancient Sources on travelling the Red Sea

Eudoxus of Cyzicus

    • Poseidonius wrote that the sea captain Eudoxus of Cyzicus was sent to India by Ptolemy VIII.
    • He made two voyages using an Indian pilot in 118 BCE and sailing unguided in 116 BCE.
    • Eudoxus returned with a cargo of spices and precious stones.

The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea

    • The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea describes the Sea Route from Egypt to India in the first century CE, showing all the distances calculated from Berenice, the seaport nearest to India.
    • The Periplus describes the Ports and Peoples on the Route.
    • The Sea Distances were measured in Stadia: 625 feet or 1/8th of a Roman mile.

Pliny: Alexandria to the Red Sea

Pliny's Description of the Route to India

    • The Journey from Egypt to India took two and a half months to sail, according to Pliny the Elder:
    • 30 days from Myos Hormos to Ocelis. Watering and provisioning of vessels. Set off from around the 21st July. The Southwestern Monsoon, (Hippalus} blows from June to August in the Gulf of Aden.
    • 40 days from Ocelis to Muziris. Arrive around the 1st September. The Southwestern Monsoon ends around the end of September.

Strabo: The Red Sea Route to India

    • Strabo stated that 120 Ships sailed from Myos Hormos to India, every year. Ships usually left Egypt in June or July in order to reach the Indian Ocean and take advantage of the Monsoon which reached India around the first week of June and ended by the end of September. The Journey took about 3 to 6 weeks.
    • During July and August, around the Horn of Africa and Socotra, the winds can reach gale force making travel uncomfortable.
    • The Southwest Monsoon features thick haze and poor visibility,
    • The Fleet returned from India when the Monsoon reversed direction. This started in the last week of October, so the fleet would arrive back in Egypt sometime in January.
    • Navigation from the mouth of the Red Sea to the Indian Coast is basically east west, no compass was required, since vessels could follow an Easting and sail due east by the path of the Sun by day, the Pole star Polaris and the constellation of Orion by night.

Red Sea Fleet

    • There are fourth century CE references to a ‘Classis Maris Rubris’, a Red Sea Fleet, which seems to have been a commercial Fleet, possibly operating on the same lines as the Alexandrian Grain Fleet.
    • The Fleet may have been based at the large protected Harbour of Myos Hormos. Berenice seems not to have been a developed Harbour, although it was the first port of disembarcation, when the Fleet returned to Egypt, in the race to get the Goods back to Coptos and Alexandria. The rest of the Fleet then continued for another 5 days up to Myos Hormos.
    • During the Ptolemaic Period Merchant ships carried contingents of Archers on board, according to the Pithom Stele. Lucian also states that the Romans continued this practice of Archers on board merchant vessels.
    • There is no record of a Roman Naval Fleet in the Red Sea. Galleys carried very little water, and needed to take on water every one to two days for their oarsmen who consumed around 8 litres per day. The Red Sea has Rocky, waterless coasts with very few harbours to take on water, and so would have been unsuitable for a Galley Fleet.

 

The Red Sea

Titus Tunnel

  • The Titus Tunnel is a pair of Roman Tunnels commenced by Vespasian in 69 CE and completed by Antoninus Pius in 161 CE. It includes a section of Canal.
  • It is located in Syria, 15 miles (24km) from Antioch.

Description

The Canal

  • The Canal was built to divert the upper River that caused damage when it flowed through the lower city during the flood season, and silted up the Inner Harbour.
  • The Canal was designed to divert the river away from the city, through the two tunnels, after which the canal then emptied into the Outer Harbour.

The Tunnels

Construction

  • The total length of the structure is 2,870 ft (875m).
  • A Roman dam was constructed in masonry to divert the upper stream, and is 59 ft (18m) high by 160 ft (49m) wide, backed by a sloping embankment 413 ft (126m) long.
  • The First Tunnel is 295 ft (90m) long, built in a horseshoe shape, it is 22 ft (6.9m) wide and 21 ft (6.5m) high at the exit.
  • The connecting open Canal between the two tunnels is 210 ft (64m) long, 18 ft (5.5m) wide, and is 82-98 ft (25-30m) in height.
  • The Second Tunnel is 101 ft (31m) long, built in a rectangular shape, 24 ft (7.3m) wide, and is 23 ft (7.2m) in height.
  • Running inside both tunnels on one side is a raised cistern, 1 ft (0.3m) in height and over 1 ft (0.4m) in width, to carry fresh spring water outside of the flood season.
  • An arched bridge, 14 ft (4.5m) high and spanning 18 ft (5.5m), carried an aqueduct over the canal.
  • The discharge canal into the Sea is 2,083 ft (635m) length, 12-23 ft (3.8-7.2m) in width and up to 49 ft (15m) in height.

The Roman Site today

  • The Tunnel is one of the most amazing feats of Roman engineering, built through solid rock, and the Site can be walked today.
  • The canal and tunnel structure is a total of one mile (1,400 m) long, and consists of two tunnels combined with the canal that emptied into what was the Roman outer harbour, but today runs into the sea.
  • A canal connected the Outer Harbour to the Inner Harbour, where the Roman Naval Fleet of Syria was based, the Classis Syriaca.
  • The tunnels bear two Latin inscriptions, one dedicating the Tunnel to the Emperors Vespasian and Titus, another dedicating the tunnel to Antoninus Pius.
  • The canal is dry today. Starting from where it empties into the sea, the first part of the canal is in the open. Before entering the tunnel, the canal is crossed by a Roman Bridge. It then enters a ravine, followed by the two tunnels.

Roman Rock Tombs

  • The Besikli Magarasi (Cave with a Crib), which consist of 12 Roman Rock tombs with reliefs carved into the mountainside, are 328 ft (100m) from the upper end of the Tunnels.
  • They date from between the 1st-5th centuries CE.

Nearby Roman Roads

Other Roman Tunnels

 

Titus Tunnel

Seleucia of Pieria

  • Seleucia of Pieria was an important Mediterranean Roman Port located in the Province of Syria, with a road linking it to the Provincial Capital of Antioch, 15 miles (24km) away.
  • It is located in Samandagi, Hatay, Turkey, and is now 4 miles (6 km) to the south of the mouth of the Orontes river.

Roman Sites

  • Titus Tunnel (68-161 CE)
    • The Titus Tunnel consists of two Roman Tunnels and a canal section which is almost 4,600 ft (c.1,400m) long, which drained the Orontes flood waters away from the town into the Outer Harbour.
    • It was commenced by Vespasian in 69 CE and completed by Antoninus Pius in 161 CE.
  • Roman Amphitheatre
  • Roman Necropolis
  • Roman Temples
  • Roman Citadel

Roman Roads

  • Roman Road
    • Seleucia of Pieria-Antioch
    • A road was built along the Orontes valley beside the river to Antioch.

History

  • Antioch was on the Silk Road to Mesopotamia, and the port Seleucia of Pieria was its link into the Mediterranean.
  • The city consisted of a lower city and an upper city.
  • Mount Casius
    • Behind Seleucea of Pieria is a 5,318 ft (1,621m) Mountain called Mt. Casius, famed in the ancient world for its beauty.
    • From the summit, the dawn could be witnessed, whilst everything below was still completely dark. This brought both the Roman Emperors Hadrian and Julian to visit and view this phenomena.
  • Naval Base
    • Seleucia was the Roman Naval Base for the Classis Syriaca. There was an inner and an outer harbour, similar to that of Portus.
    • The two huge moles protecting the Outer Harbour are still visible from the beach, but the harbour itself has been silted up. However, the Inner Harbour is still intact and filled with water. It is 2,000 ft long by 1,200 ft wide, and was connected by a canal to the Outer Harbour.
    • The Harbour was further expanded under Diocletian and Constantius I Chlorus, the father of Constantine I.
    • It was the Port of disembarkation for the Legions going to or from the Parthian Frontier.
  • Mention in The Bible
    • Seleucia of Pieria, is the Port that Paul of Tarsus set off from in The Bible (Acts 13:4), on the first of his Missionary Journeys.
    • As he returned to Antioch many times, he would have passed through this port frequently.

 

Seleucia of Pieria, Samandag, Turkey