IE IL IL /A\\\\ IS
Enthusiast
Reged: Mon
Posts: 472
Loc: IG IR IE IE IC IE
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The Diolkos, the famous paved road constructed around 600 BC and used to transport ships by land over the Isthmus of Corinth, is unique in its kind but it has never been protected since the time of excavation (~1960), progressively crumbling into the water at its western end.
In an effort to save and restore the structure, we have created an international petition at
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/870477005
We invite you to sign and help preserve this historical monument.
Sofia Loverdou – freelance science journalist
Yiannis Balafoutas – Retired teacher, writer
More information and images in ENGLISH, at
http://www.greece.org:8080/opencms/opencms/HEC_Projects/DIOLKOS/
Images and comments in GREEK, at http://www.greekarchitects.gr/index.php?maincat=8&newid=890 and also
http://www.in.gr/Reviews/imagegallery.asp?lngReviewID=1667&lngChapterID=16500&lngItemID=57977
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sofial
Stranger
Reged: Tue
Posts: 1
Loc: Athens, Greece
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Although relevant services advertise their "interest" in Diolkos, the erosion continues to expand under the supposedly "sane" part of the monument. As it does, both ancient blocks AND their immediate substrate are hanging over a void!
Respect and attention for Diolkos are still lacking... In November, the Directorate for the Restoration of Ancient Monuments (DAAM) sent a team to retrieve two ancient blocks fallen in 2007. However, the second stone they brought up was NOT the one fallen last February (as instead they wrote in their official report!), although I had personally shown images of the stones (in two occasions) to the present Head of the Ephorate. Apparently, DAAM and the local ephorate did not coordinate...
During the same visit, in order to place some more supports under the sector E which is now eaten by erosion, the DAAM team entered the sane part of Diolkos WITH THEIR VAN although there is very convenient access from another point. Since the operation was done in collaboration with the local ephorate, it would seem that neither service knew or cared to look for the other access that wouldn't have a vehicle go over the ancient monument!
==-===
One more thing that shows how deplorable the role of the local ephorate has been under the former Head, Mr. Mantis (today at the Acropolis!!!), is this:
I had written to ask about a damage I had noticed on the part of Diolkos that is on the Attica side of the Canal (and is free from erosion). As I quite recently found out, Mr. Mantis wrote to his superiors stating that they had performed an autopsy and nothing was wrong!!!
You can see the damage on the double row of stones, a very interesting feature of Diolkos, below. The western end has been removed (by a bulldozer I think - sometime between 1978 and 1984) and then replaced haphazardly.
I DO hope Mr. Mantis does better as Head of the ACROPOLIS ephorate!
For more photos, please go to:
http://www.greece.org:8080/opencms/opencms/HEC_Projects/DIOLKOS/Gallery.html
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