The ancient Diolkos of Corinth. Analysis of the proposals for its route and calculation of the optimal trajectory
Keywords:
Corinth, Isthmus, Diolkos, inland transport of shipsCopyright (c) 2021 Pere García Ruiz
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Abstract
In this paper, we propose a reinterpretation of the itinerary of the ancient Diolkos of Corinth based on a scientific and rigorous perspective. Using the computer tools currently available and the cartography of the Isthmus region prior to the opening of the canal, we have developed a set of programs that allow us, first of all, to evaluate the trajectories proposed by the scholars and, in addition, to elaborate a hypothesis of an optimal trajectory.
In our research, we believe that approaching the study of this trajectory from the point of view of physics and engineering can provide a complementary and enriching vision of the various existing papers about the subject, based exclusively on historical sources. We hope that our contribution could be useful to understand the technical requirements and the difficulties of the transport of ships between the gulfs of the Isthmus of Corinth, and to evaluate the economic and strategic interests of this famous route.
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References
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