#groynes

New findings suggest people living in the ancient empire of Nubia in northern Sudan were manipulating the river to their advantage as far back as 3,000 years ago. River 'groynes' are rigid structures, laid perpendicular to a shore or bank, that humans still use to this day to manipulate the flow of water and silt. They're highly useful, and farmers and boaters along the Nile have known that for much longer than we ever knew. The Yellow River in China used to have the oldest known groynes in the world. But not anymore. Researchers in Australia and the United Kingdom have found evidence that Nubians were using groynes 2,500 years before farmers in China were doing the same. Using satellite data, local surveys, and previous studies, the team revealed hundreds of groynes that still stand in Sudan to this day.

Porto Dawn by Paul Ewing Via Flickr: Dawn at Portobello Beach near Edinburgh, Scotland