The Eupalinus tunnel
Posted by: 
Tervas
N 37° 41.687 E 026° 55.782
35S E 493802 N 4171953
Quick Description: Water tunnel carved through mount Ambelos in Samos Greece.
Built 535 BC, length 1,350 meters.
Location: Greece
Date Posted: 10/12/2006 3:00:50 AM
Waymark Code: WMTYH
Views: 142
Long Description:The Tunnel of Eupalinus, which is at Pythagoreio, was the " eighth
wonder " of the ancient world. The way in which it is constructed
often comes as a surprise even to modern experts. The success of
the enterprise - given the means available at the time : the hammer
and the chisel - is astonishing.
This tunnel is the middle section of a major, acqueduct,
constructed around 550 B.C. by the architect Eupalinus, to supply
the ancient city of Samos, the modern Pythagoreio, with water. Its
construction took about ten years and the tunnel has a length of
1,036 metres. In order to construct the conduit, a total of 7,000
cubic metres of natural rock had to be removed. The section of the
tunnel is on average 1.80 by 1.80 metres, and it cuts through the
mountain at a depth of 180 metres below its summit.
This ancient tunnel is constructed with rectangular stones which
are very skilfully fitted one on top of the other. It is roofed
with a triangular vault, made with the same kind of stones. The
persistence of the ancient Greeks, who in this section were faced
with doubly difficult tasks, still calls forth the admiration of
the visitor. They first had to hollow out the mountain and then
construct in it the wall and vaulted corridor as a passageway.
The water was channeled through pipes which were installed in
the acqueduct below the part of the tunnel in the direction of the
source and alongside it in the direction of the town.
These pipes, which remain at many points, are so well made that
they look as though they were put in yesterday, even after the
passage of so many centuries - and all this without any of the
technological means available to our own age.
More info:
("http://www.showcaves.com/english/gr/misc/Eupalinus.html"
target="_blank">visit link)