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 is shown by an arrow on Figure 4.15). The water supply conduit was laid at the bottom of a trench dug into the floor of the tunnel. Because of this trench, it was possible to dig a horizontal tunnel (a relatively straightforward task); the depth of the trench is zero at the entrance to the tunnel and progressively increases to reach nearly 8.5 m at the tunnel’s exist, assuring the slope necessary to convey the flow.
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Figure 4.15. Plan view of the aqueduct of Samos and the tunnel of Eupalinos. |
Herodotus considered this project, which is still partially visible today,[157] [158] as one of the marvels of the Hellenic world:
“I have dwelt the longer on the affairs of the Samians, because three of the greatest works in
all Greece were made by them. One is a tunnel, under a hill one hundred and fifty fathoms
(265 m) high, carried entirely through the base of the hill, with a mouth at either end. The
length of the cutting is seven furlongs (1,240 m) — the height and width are each eight feet (2.4
m). Along the whole course there is a second cutting, twenty cubits deep (8.5 m!) and three
feet broad (0.9 m), whereby water is brought, through pipes, from an abundant source into the
city. The architect of this tunnel was Eupalinus, son of Naustrophus, a Megarian. Such is the
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first of their great works; (….)”
Herodotus’ dimensions approximately coincide with those that can be deduced from the remains of the works. The project was very likely undertaken under the reign of the tyrant Polycrates, around 530 BC, before Samos fell under Persian domination.
Herodotus also mentions a mole (breakwater) at the port of Samos, once again a record achievement for the period. Here is the continuation of the passage above:
“the second is a mole in the sea, which goes all round the harbor, near twenty fathoms (35 m) deep, and in length above two furlongs (355 m). The third is a temple (..)”
