Eupalinos

Eupalinos (or Eupalinus) of Megara, was an ancient Greek engineer who built the Tunnel of Eupalinos on Samos Island in the 6th century BC.

The tunnel, presumably completed between 550 and 530 BC, [Harry B. Evans, Review of Hermann Kienast, p.150] is the second known tunnel in history which was excavated from both ends and the first with a methodical approach in doing so. [The oldest known tunnel, at which two teams advanced simultaneously was Hezekiah's tunnel in Jerusalem, completed around 700 BC. However, numerous false starts in wrong directions, which took the tunnel convert|1500|ft|m to cover a distance of convert|1000|ft|m, indicate that the work was done without a methodical approach (Burns 173). Rather, the workers followed probably an underground watercourse (Apostel 33).] Being also the longest tunnel of its time, the Tunnel of Eupalinos is regarded as a major feat of ancient engineering. It was constructed for the tyrant Polycrates of Samos, and was a remarkable 1,036 meters (3400 ft) long. It brought water to the city, passing through limestone at the base of a hill. This tunnel still exists, and is one of the most remarkable constructions in Greece, due to its two-way construction.

The Greek historian Herodotus describes the tunnel briefly in his "Histories" (3.60) and calls Eupalinos of Megara its architect:

I have dwelt rather long on the history of the Samians because theirs are the three greatest works ("ergasmata") of all the Greeks. One is a tunnel ("orygma amphistomon") through the base of a nine hundred foot high mountain. The tunnel's length is seven stades, its height and length (width) both eight feet. Throughout its length another cutting ("orygma") has been dug ("ororyktai") three feet wide and three feet deep, through which the water flowing in pipes is led into the city from an abundant spring. The builder ("architekton") of the tunnel was the Megarian Eupalinus, son of Maustrophus.

Eupalinos is supposed to be the first hydraulic engineer in history whose name has been passed down. Apart from that, though, nothing more is known about him. [Tom Apostel, p.33]

A large road tunnel, named after Eupalinos has been recently built under the Geraneia mountains in Corinthia, to facilitate the new expressway connection between Athens and Corinth. Eupalinos tunnel is the longest of three subsequent tunnels of the same width at this expressway.

Literature

* Alfred Burns, “The Tunnel of Eupalinus and the Tunnel Problem of Hero of Alexandria,” "Isis", Vol. 62, No. 2. (Summer, 1971), pp. 172-185
* B. L. Van der Waerden, “Eupalinos and His Tunnel,” "Isis", Vol. 59, No. 1. (Spring, 1968), pp. 82-83
* Harry B. Evans, Review of Hermann Kienast, “Die Wasserleitung des Eupalinos auf Samos,” "American Journal of Archaeology", Vol. 103, No. 1. (Jan., 1999), pp. 149-150
* [http://www.samoshilfe.net/galerie/popup/eupalinos.htm Hermann J. Kienast: Die Wasserleitung des Eupalinos auf Samos, Deutsches Archäologisches Institut Athen (German)]
* Hermann J Kienast: Die Wasserleitung des Eupalinos auf Samos (Samos XIX.), Rudolph Habelt, Bonn 1995. ISBN 3-7749-2713-8
* June Goodfield, Stephen Toulmin, “How Was the Tunnel of Eupalinus Aligned?,” "Isis", Vol. 56, No. 1. (Spring, 1965), pp. 46-55
* [http://pr.caltech.edu/periodicals/EandS/articles/LXVII1/Apostol%20Feature%20(Samos).pdf Tom Apostel, “The Tunnel of Samos,” "Engineering and Science", No.1 (2004), pp.30-40]

External links

* [http://homepages.cwi.nl/~aeb/math/samos/ Dan Hughes: The Tunnel of Eupalinos]
* [http://pr.caltech.edu/periodicals/eands/articles/LXVII1/samos.html Tom M. Apostol: The Tunnel of Samos (HTML)]
* [http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/2/gh251.jsp?obj_id=818 The Eupalinian aqueduct by the Greek Ministry of Culture]

References