For thousands of years, the hydraulic know-how of the East was no more than an oral tradition. But with the conquests of Alexander the Great, this oral tradition comes into contact with the Greek spirit of observation and analysis. The city of Alexandria, at the maritime front door of Egypt, for several centuries serves as […]
Рубрика: Water Engineering in Ancient Civilizations. 5,000 Years of History
Greek philosophers and thinkers of the classical era
The hydraulic works of Greece during the classical era do not measure up to those of the Mycenaen era. The few extracts cited above also show that in Greece, hydraulic know-how lags behind that of the Orient. And yet this classical Greece is known to us as the privileged cradle of development of philosophical and […]
Engineering projects developed in Greece by the Persians during the Median wars
Herodotus’ history of the Median wars is interesting for its representation of the first confrontation between the classical Greek world and the Orient. Certain elements of Herodotus’ writings show the technical and cultural abyss that separated the two civilizations, both in their relationships to the sea and their practice of fluvial engineering. During the first […]
The hydraulic works of Samos: record achievements in the Greek world
The city of Samos in Ionia is located near the coast of Asia Minor on an island of the same name. A spectacular tunnel more than 1,000 m long was dug for its water supply (Figure 4.15). The tunnel was bored in two sections starting from its extremities (the meeting point of the two bores […]
Water supply for Greek cities
Greek cities develop their water supply using local springs and aqueducts of terra-cotta conduits, following the centuries-old Cretan and Mycenaen traditions. These conduits are set underground, both for their protection and to accommodate irregular topography. They are assembled from interlocking pre-fabricated elements from 60 cm to 1 m long, and between 11 and 22 cm […]
The Greek world in the classical age
With the disappearance of the Mycenaen civilization, Greece enters its dark age. For no less than four centuries writing is forgotten, not to be rediscovered until the 7th century BC with the adoption of the Phoenician alphabet of the 10th century BC. In the 5th century BC, Greek history is punctuated by the revolts of […]
A dam to protect Tiryns
A catastrophe strikes the city of Tiryns toward the end of the Mycenaen civilization. The city is located on an alluvial plain about one kilometer from the sea; the palace is 24 m above sea level, on a limestone hill. The city itself is at the foot of the palace, to the east and south. […]
Drainage and land improvement in the Mycenaen civilization
Many of the regions of Peloponnese or Attica are karsitic. Entire rivers disappear into abysses or caverns (called catavothres in Greek), only to reappear at some distant point. When the subterranean cavities fill up or are blocked, for example after earthquakes, water can accumulate in marshes and lakes, the water level varying from season to […]
Port development at Pylos
Between 1400 and 1200 BC, Achean shipping dominates long-distance commerce in the eastern Mediterranean, extending to Sicily, and perhaps even as far as to Spain. The ports of Antiquity are often developed in natural bays (that do not always provide good shelter), or in river mouths. Recently, a detailed study of the Pylos region has […]
Urban hydraulics in the Mycenaen palaces
The centers of Mycenaen power are in strongly fortified palaces (Figure 4.6), with an architecture that has been described as cyclopean due to its use of huge stone blocks. At Mycenae in the palace of Agamemnon, at Pylos homeland of Nestor, and at Tiryns, one finds bathing rooms equipped with permanent bathtubs of terra cotta […]