Misconceptions for risks of coastal flooding following the excavation of the Suez and the Corinth canals in antiquity
In: Méditerranée, 2007
academicJournal
Zugriff:
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. ; Durant l’Antiquité, de nombreuses tentatives ont été effectuées afin de percer les canaux de Suez (Egypte) et de Corinthe (Grèce). Elles se sont toutes soldées par des échecs. La principale raison retenue par les sources historiques est la question des différences de niveau marin de part et d’autre des isthmes qui furent évaluées jusqu’à 10m. Par conséquent, les Anciens craignirent d’établir des canaux non praticables du fait de l’importance des courants et d’inonder les zones basses adjacentes. Il semblerait que tous ces risques ont été volontairement exagérés par les détracteurs des canaux. Certains notables ont vraisemblablement profité de l’abandon des différents projets. Les deux canaux ne seront finalement percés qu’au XIXe siècle. Depuis leur ouverture, les canaux fonctionnent normalement et témoignent de l’absence notable de différence de niveau de la mer de part et d’autre de leurs embouchures.
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Misconceptions for risks of coastal flooding following the excavation of the Suez and the Corinth canals in antiquity
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Autor/in / Beteiligte Person: | Stiros, Stathis C. |
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Zeitschrift: | Méditerranée, 2007 |
Veröffentlichung: | Presses Universitaires de Provence ; Méditerranée, 2007 |
Medientyp: | academicJournal |
DOI: | 10.4000/mediterranee.162 |
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