Planning and routing in ancient tunnel construction

Author: Klaus Grewe

This book is a tribute to Eupalinos, Cocceius, Nonius Datus and the countless unknown ancient engineers whose tunnels still testify to their great engineering spirit.

The author has followed in the footsteps of his ancient colleagues and, after an in-depth study of sources, has visited every ancient tunnel accessible to him during numerous expeditions through Southern Europe, North Africa, and Asia Minor. Wherever it was possible to enter or “crawl” into the structure, he spared no effort in surveying these engineering masterpieces of antiquity and photographing the existing structures. He examined numerous aqueduct tunnels, as well as road tunnels and tunnels used to lower lakes and divert rivers; he even describes a river tunnel used for gold mining. For the famous Eupalinos Tunnel on the island of Samos, one of the most magnificent structures of its kind, he succeeded in reconstructing the builder’s strategy from start to finish.

The numerous ancient tunnel structures on the Rhine, Moselle and Saar complete the picture for the Germanic provinces of the Roman Empire.