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EFPALINEAN TUNNEL
The renowned Efpalinean Tunnel of Pythagorion is the 8th wonder of the antiquity. Its construction impresses modern architects. The tunnel is the middle part of an aqueduct built for the water supply of the city in 550 BC by the architect Efpalinus from the city of Megara. The tunnel goes through the hill Ambelos bringing water from the springs of Agiades.
The opening up of the tunnel took 10 years while it remained active for more than a thousand. After that it was covered and abandoned.
The aqueduct has three parts. The first one is a pipe 830 meters long connecting the springs with the northern inlet of the tunnel. The pipe is on the surface of the ground and covered with tiles.The second and most important is the underground tunnel going through the mountain. The admirable of this tunnel is that it took only two small groups of workers to open it. They started from the two opposite sides of the tunnel until they met in the middle.
This tunnel is 1036 meters long and ends at the southern inlet. There, another pipe, 520 meters long, takes over to bring the water inside the city. This is the third part of the aqueduct. This great achievement became feasible because of the great talent, the expertise and the precise measuring of Efpalinus. It is said that he had made markings on the ground to help the underground tunnel take the right direction.
In order to make the tunnel, Efpalinus had 7000 cubic meters of rocks removed. The tunnel is 1.8 meters tall and 1.8 meters wide and crosses the mountain 180 meters below its peak. It is made by square rocks applied the one onto the other. It is covered by a triangular dome made by the same kind of rocks. It also had pipes below it, taking water back to the springs. Some of the pipes are still there and look like as if they were only recently placed there even though so many centuries have passed.
The tunnel is illuminated and open to the public.
Schedule: Tuesday to Sunday: 08:45 to 14:45 (last entry 14:15), Mondays: closed.
Tickets: 4 Euros, Reduced: 2 Euros |
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EFPALINEAN TUNNEL 