Heptastadion

Coordinates: 31°11′58″N 29°53′06″E / 31.19944°N 29.88500°E / 31.19944; 29.88500
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Heptastadion
Caesar's Civil War
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The Heptastadion (Greek: Ὲπταστάδιον) was a giant

Ptolemaic period.[2] The Heptastadion was created to link Pharos Island to the mainland coast and given a name based on its length (Heptastadion is Greek for "seven stadia"— hepta meaning seven, and a stadion being a Greek unit of length measuring approximately 180 m (590 ft)).[3]
Overall it was more than three-quarters of a mile long.

History

Alexander the Great founded the city of Alexandria in April 331 BC on the site of the small fishing village of Rhacotis as the marine base for his fleet. The city was built on a narrow limestone ridge[4] opposite to Pharos Island where the Pharos lighthouse would later stand.[5] Forces under Alexander's command cleared the sand and silt deposits which made the port unnavigable, and Alexander's engineer Dinocrates linked the port of Alexandria and the island of Pharos with a bridge 1,200 m (3,900 ft) long and 200 m (660 ft) wide, creating two harbour basins for commercial and military shipping. The northeast basin (currently the Eastern harbour) was designed for military vessels and the southwest basin (currently the main port of Alexandria) was for commercial use.

In the Ptolemaic period the lighthouse was constructed on the orders of

Alexandrian War. The Heptastadion is also believed to have served as an aqueduct while Pharos was inhabited,[3] and geophysical research indicates that it was part of the road network of the ancient city.[9]

Later periods

Due to silting over the years,

Ras el-Tin
quarter is built on the silt which gradually widened and obliterated the mole.

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 0-567-02610-8
    .
  2. ^ Khalid S. Al-Hagla. "Cultural Sustainability: An Asset of Cultural Tourism Industry" (PDF). International Cetre for Research on the Economics of Culture, Institutions, and Creativity (EBLA). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-07-21.
  3. ^
    S2CID 56330738
    .
  4. ISBN 9781400870714
    . Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  5. ^ Smith, Sir William (1952). Everyman's Smaller Classical Dictionary. J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. p. 222.
  6. ISBN 9781134856428
    . Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  7. ^ "Egypt After the Pharaohs: Heptastadion". www.brown.edu. Brown University. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  8. ^ Arthur de Graauw (5 July 2011). "Ancient Ports – Ports Antiques: Alexandria". www.ancientportsantiques.com. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  9. ^ a b "Archaeologists and Geophysicists: The Heptastadion". www.cealex.org. Centre d'Études Alexandrines. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  10. ^ "The Ptolemaic Legacy". Archived from the original on 2008-02-16. Retrieved 2008-02-11.
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