Ayn Sukhna — Pharaonic Red Sea Harbour (Wadi al-Jarf / Ayn Sukhna Bay)
Ayn Soukhna · Ain Sukhna · Wadi al-Jarf–Ayn Sukhna harbour complex · Port of Khufu
Old Kingdom to Middle Kingdom (c.2650 – 1700 BCE)·Old Kingdom Egyptian (Snefru–Khufu–Khafra)·🇪🇬 Suez Governorate, Ayn Sukhna Bay, Wadi al-Jarf – Ayn Sukhna strand, Egypt
About
About Ayn Sukhna — Pharaonic Red Sea Harbour (Wadi al-Jarf / Ayn Sukhna Bay)
2650 BCE Old Kingdom) on Red Sea strand at Ayn Sukhna–Wadi al-Jarf pair, built by Snefru and Khufu to ship copper and turquoise from Sinai. Paired harbour: Wadi al-Jarf jetty 240 m L-shaped mole to –3 m with 30 galleries cut into cliff storing 150 mortised Hull boats, seals of Khufu and Red Sea papyri; Ayn Sukhna 90 km north with Snefru–Pepi forts and smelting furnaces. 2–1 m submerged under beach sand and wadeable reef flat; galleries now inland 200 m due to progradation.
Excavated 1999–2020 by Pierre Tallet IFAO and Mahdi. Distinct from isolated Wadi al-Jarf paper by treating paired harbour unit.
Why it mattersOldest harbour in world — 1000 years predates any other port structure globally; Diary of Merer papyrus archives Great Pyramid logistics via Red Sea shipping.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Whether mole is Khufu or Snefru phase
- 02How many boat trips per year to El-Markha
Theories
- 01Mole built to extend seasonal wadi anchorage year-round
- 02Papyrus cargo manifests list Tura limestone shipments
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.2650 BCE Snefru; Wadi al-Jarf mole built under Khufu c.2600 BCE
- Period
- Old Kingdom to Middle Kingdom (c.2650 – 1700 BCE)
- Culture
- Old Kingdom Egyptian (Snefru–Khufu–Khafra)
- Purpose
- Sinai copper-turquoise mining flotilla port for Egyptian state
- Abandoned
- c.1700 BCE (shift to Mersa Gawasis Middle Kingdom harbour)
- Rediscovered
- 1999– IFAO Tallet at Wadi al-Jarf and Ayn Sukhna; 2008 gall. discovery
- Excavation
- Submerged
c.2650 BCE
Snefru builds first Ayn Sukhna jetty and galleries
c.2600 BCE
Khufu builds Wadi al-Jarf 240 m L-mole and boat galleries — papyri archive
2013
Tallet discovers Diary of Merer papyrus at Wadi al-Jarf
On the ground
Structures & features
29.5836° N · 32.3426° E · 0 m · 3 mapped features
Ayn Sukhna Bay Pharaonic Jetty
harbourOld Kingdom limestone jetty at 0.2–1 m under beach and reef flat
29.5840° N · 32.3430° EWadi al-Jarf L-Shaped Mole (240 m)
moleKhufu 240 m mole to –3 m with anchor stones and pier header
29.5850° N · 32.3200° EBoat Galleries and Papyrus Cache (cliff)
gallery30 rock-cut galleries 30 m long storing mortised boats, seals and Merer papyrus
29.5860° N · 32.3210° E