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This topic will be a sort of catchbasin (': for quotes about various canals of antiquity.
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1 posted on 07/30/2004 8:27:29 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
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The Canal Of Xerxes In Northern Greece
B. S. J. Isserlin, M. Arvanitis, R. E. Jones, V. Karastathis, St. P. Papamarinopoulos, P. Stephanopoulos, G. Syrides, J. Uren
Hellenic Society for Archaeometry
The ancient Greek historian Herodotus describes how a canal was constructed in northern Greece on the orders the Persian King Xerxes in around 480 BC to allow the Persian fleet safe passage into the Aegean in advance of its invasion of Greece; he records that it was some 2 km long and was wide enough for two triremes to pass side by side. If this account is true, its construction must have been a remarkable engineering operation for its time. Until now, no archaeological fieldwork has been carried out to verify whether indeed it was a canal, or whether, as some have postulated, there was instead a slipway (diolkos) across the isthmus.

Over the last decade a British-Greek team has carried out a non-invasive investigation at the supposed site of the canal (on the Athos peninsula of the Chalkidiki) to resolve this question. Geophysical and topographic surveys and analysis of sediments from boreholes have demonstrated the veracity of Herodotus' account: the powerful combination of seismic refraction survey in conjunction with sediment analysis revealed the presence of a canal now buried some 15 m below present ground surface; the canal seems to have been short lived (Jones et al 2000; Karastathis et al 2001).

This paper has two main aims: first to demonstrate the role of integrated input from geophysical survey and analysis of sediments from cores, and second to present the results of the last phase of the project. In the latter, seismic survey again coupled with sediment analysis found no obstacle to the canal meeting the sea at its southern end, contrary to one ancient writer who recounts that the ground was too rocky to allow construction of the canal there. At the northern end of the canal, a 3-D and 2-D seismic refraction tomography survey successfully detected the canal, following a course that differs from that expected. This course is compared with what is observed in a LANDSAT image of the area.
Bravo for the Father of History.
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2 posted on 07/30/2004 8:42:00 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Unlike some people, I have a profile. Okay, maybe it's a little large...)
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http://www.livius.org/ga-gh/germania/drusiana.html

"The Fossa Drusiana was the canal between the rivers Rhine and IJssel, dug by Roman soldiers at the end of the first century BCE. The project was probably in some way connected to the mole at Carvium. The canal still exists as the upper course of the IJssel; two radiocarbon-dates from the oldest deposits of this river suggest that they date back to the beginning of our era... A more recent interpretation points to the fact that the ancient sources speak about the canals of Drusus, and suggests that a second canal connected Lake Flevo with the Wadden Sea."


3 posted on 07/13/2005 11:38:35 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (last updated by FR profile on Tuesday, May 10, 2005.)
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Just updating the GGG information, not sending a general distribution.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. Thanks.
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4 posted on 01/06/2007 2:23:09 PM PST by SunkenCiv ("I've learned to live with not knowing." -- Richard Feynman)
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To: blam

· join list or digest · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post a topic · subscribe ·

 
Gods
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Just updating the GGG info, not sending a general distribution.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.
GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach
 

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5 posted on 11/27/2009 7:39:54 PM PST by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/__Since Jan 3, 2004__Profile updated Monday, January 12, 2009)
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To: SunkenCiv
Compared to 20th century standards, one is surprised to learn that the project, which included a 330-metre-long aqueduct, was completed in only one year and three months time.

When a king who literally had his brothers balls cut off tells you to dig, you dig.

10 posted on 01/27/2020 8:03:44 PM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear (A hero is a hero no matter what medal they give him. Likewise a schmuck is still a schmuck.)
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To: SunkenCiv

“one is surprised to learn that the project, which included a 330-metre-long aqueduct, was completed in only one year and three months time.”

Amazing what can be done with no EPA or unions to deal with.
Didn’t hurt that balky bureaucrats could be executed. :-)


11 posted on 01/27/2020 9:45:31 PM PST by oldvirginian (I know not what course others may take but as for me Give me Liberty or give me death)
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To: SunkenCiv
... was completed in only one year and three months time.

Well, yeah, he didn't have the EPA, the Unions or a Zoning board to put up with!...................

14 posted on 01/28/2020 6:08:18 AM PST by Red Badger (Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain.......... ..)
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