Tunnel and ventilation design of the Eupalinos’ aqueduct in Samos, Greece

Abstract

Polycrates’ extended reign and a recently discovered extension of the distribution sector of the aqueduct prompted this review of the design and tunnelling of the Eupalinos’ aqueduct. Both aqueducts, the Archaic and Roman, cross an affluent area of the upper city, located less than 10 m below the level of the water source, a condition critical for the aqueduct’s design. The tunnel’s detour from its initial axis and the function of the tunnel as an integrated element of the city’s defensive works are also discussed. A key consideration of this review is the ventilation of the lengthiest blind segments of the Eupalinos’ tunnel, given that natural ventilation in a blind gallery is generally not effective beyond about 50 m. Considering the historical evolution of ventilation in underground works, it is proposed here that a ventilation circuit was maintained along the tunnel through an auxiliary gallery dug simultaneously a few meters below the tunnel.

Keywords:

• Eupalinos tunnel
• Polycrates of Samos
• Pythagoras
• aqueduct design
• tunnel ventilation

Acknowledgments

I am deeply indebted to Amanda Kelly of the University College Dublin for her inspiring collaboration, the profound comments, indispensable improvements, and encouragement, crucial for the completion of the manuscript in its current form. I thank Paul Marinos of the National Technical University of Athens for discussions on karstic hydrogeology, Denis Morin of the University of Lorraine for the ground-breaking research on Laurion and the unique photo of the ancient shaft, Adonis Photiades of the Greek Institute of Geology, and Grigoris Koulouriotis for the professional photos of the Eupalinian aqueduct. The insightful comments of the three reviewers helped me to improve the original text and I gratefully acknowledge them. I also thank the Editors and the Editorial Office of the International Journal for the History of Engineering & Technology. Special thanks are also addressed to the Associate Editor for the suggested references on the ventilation of coal mines in the first half of the nineteenth century. My gratitude to my beloved wife goes without saying.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

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Additional information

Notes on contributors

Eustathios D. Chiotis

Eustathios D. Chiotis graduated from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) in 1966 in Mining Engineering-Metallurgy. He accomplished M.Sc. postgraduate studies at the Imperial College in Mineral Exploration and Petroleum Engineering (1974-76). He serviced at the Institute of Geology and Mineral Exploration and at the Public Petroleum Corporation of Greece. He presented his PhD at the NTUA in 1990 on the “Thermomechanical behaviour of the Lithosphere in the Aegean”. He published articles in Geology and Archaeometry, particularly in the study of ancient aqueducts. He is editor of the Handbook “Climate Changes in the Holocene - Impacts and Human Adaptation”, 2018 and co-editor of the “Underground Aqueducts Handbook”, 2017, both published by CRC Press, of the Taylor & Francis Group. He is active in the field of energy policy and climate change.

Correspondence to: Eustathios D. Chiotis. Email: [email protected].