Wadi al-Jarf

Wadi al-Jarf

Shown within Egypt
Coordinates	28°53′30″N 32°39′30″E / 28.89167°N 32.65833°E / 28.89167; 32.65833Coordinates: 28°53′30″N 32°39′30″E / 28.89167°N 32.65833°E / 28.89167; 32.65833

Wadi al-Jarf is the present name for an area on the Red Sea coast of Egypt, 119 km (74 mi) south of Suez, that is the site of the oldest known artificial harbor on the world. It is located at the mouth of the Wadi Araba, a major communication corridor between the Nile Valley and the Red Sea, crossing the Eastern Desert. The site is also right across the Gulf of Suez from the small Sinai fortress of Tell Ras Budran. A somewhat similar ancient port is at Ain Sukhna, a little north of Wadi al-Jarf.

The site was first discovered by J. G. Wilkinson in 1832. It was rediscovered by a French team in the 1950s, who named it Rod el-Khawaga, but archeological work was quickly abandoned when the Suez Crisis broke out in 1956. A joint French–Egyptian team resumed excavation in 2011.

The harbor at the site dates to the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, approximately 4,500 years ago. Also discovered at the site were more than 100 anchors, the first Old Kingdom anchors found in their original context, and numerous storage jars. The jars have been linked with those of another site across the Red Sea, indicating trade between the two sites. A large number of papyri fragments were found at Wadi al-Jarf, providing insight to life during the Fourth Dynasty. The papyri are the oldest ever found in Egypt.

Ancient structures have been known to exist at Wadi al-Jarf since at least 1832 when J. G. Wilkinson noted their existence. He discovered a series of galleries cut into the stone which he believed to be Greek catacombs. In the 1950s, a group of French amateurs in archeology began to explore some parts of the site, which they named Rod el-Khawaga, but were expelled during the 1956 Suez Crisis. Their notes were published in 2008, spurring interest to resume work. Systematic excavation resumed in 2011 by a joint Egyptian–French archeological team led by Pierre Tallet (University Paris IV-La Sorbonne) and Gregory Marouard (The Oriental Institute, Chicago). In April 2013, archaeologists announced the discovery of an ancient harbor and dozens of papyrus documents at the location. Those are the oldest papyrus ever found in Egypt (ca. 2560-2550 BC, end of the reign of Khufu).