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How did dredging help engineers build the Suez Canal through sand and alluvium?

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Cargo ships travel along the wide Suez Canal in Egypt, bordered by sandy desert on one side and greenery on the other. — Suez Canal Ships in the Suez Canal in Egypt. One of the world's most important shipping lanes, the Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.

During the construction of the Suez Canal, dredging played a vital role in overcoming the challenges of excavating through sand and alluvium. While initial work was performed by hand using picks and baskets, the project transitioned to using dredgers and steam shovels operated by European laborers as the scale of the task became clear.1

Dredging proved to be more cost-effective than dry excavation for the terrain, which consisted primarily of sand and alluvium, except in the few areas where rock strata were encountered. To facilitate this process, engineers artificially flooded the terrain wherever possible, allowing the dredgers to operate efficiently in the water. This method was essential for moving the massive volume of sediment—totaling 74 million cubic meters—required to create the channel. By utilizing these floating devices for underwater excavation, the builders were able to maintain the necessary depths for the waterway more effectively than manual labor alone would have allowed.123