Vespasian Titus tunnel
Coordinates: 36 ° 7 ′ 22 ″ N , 35 ° 55 ′ 45 ″ E
The Vespasian-Titus-Tunnel (also Vespasiantunnel or Titustunnel , Turkish Titus ve Vespasianus Tüneli ) is a river diversion from the Roman Empire in southern Turkey . It has been on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage since April 15, 2014 .
history
Around 300 BC At the mouth of a mountain stream, the city of Seleukia Pieria was founded as the port of Antioch on the Orontes . A walled harbor basin open to the sea was set up on the coast, so that the brook first flowed through the urban area and then through the harbor. Since the port silted up again and again due to the debris carried along, regular excavation work was necessary. Because of the additional annual floods to melt snow, it was decided in the 1st century AD to divert the river around the city. The construction work began under Emperor Vespasian (ruled 69–79) and was continued under his son Titus (ruled 79–81). The building was probably not completed until the 2nd century under Antoninus Pius (r. 138–161). In the 5th century at the latest, the port silted up and the city lost its importance.
investment
The diversion system is located in Seleukia Pieria, today's village of Çevlik near Samandağ in the Turkish province of Hatay . Seleukia Pieria was the port of the ancient city of Antioch on the Orontes, today's provincial capital Antakya . The facility is located in the southeast of the current seaside resort of Çevlik.
The barrier structure is a dam with a crown 49 meters long, 5 meters wide and 16 meters high. It thus reaches a height of 44.3 meters above sea level. This is followed by embankments 126 meters in length upstream. After a 55 meter long section of canal, which has been dug into the limestone , the first 90 meter long tunnel follows. Its horseshoe-shaped mouth hole is 6.3 meters wide and 5.8 meters high. The cross-section changes after three meters to a rectangle of 6.9 by 6.5 meters at the exit. The subsequent open canal is 64 meters long and reaches heights between 25 and 30 meters. The next part is the second 31 meter long tunnel section. Its rectangular entrance measures 7.3 by 7.2 meters, the exit is trapezoidal, 5.5 meters wide and 7 meters high at the bottom. The last part is a 635 meter long, open outlet channel with widths between 3.8 and 7.2 meters and heights of 3.7 to 15 meters. Shortly after the second tunnel, a bridge arch spans the watercourse. The entire system is 875 meters long.
A rock inscription at the entrance of the first tunnel indicates Vespasian and Titus as the builders of the complex, another inscription at the second tunnel mentions Antoninus Pius.
literature
- Klaus Grewe : Tunnel. The development of technology from the beginnings to the end of the Middle Ages In: Ferrum. News from the Iron Library, Georg Fischer AG Foundation Volume 80, 2008, pp. 10–12 ( online )
Web links
- Vespasianus Titus Tunnel on the UNESCO tentative list
- Livius.org
- The ancient Vespasianus Titus Tunnel of Turkey