Spectacular Vespasianus Titus Tunnel – An Ancient Roman Engineering Marvel

A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com - One of the ancient Roman engineering marvels is located in Samandag, Turkey. This structure, known as the Vespasianus Titus tunnel, is the world's largest man-made tunnel.

Vespasianus Titus Tunnel, an ancient water tunnel built in the 1st century AD during the reign of the Roman emperor Vespasianus within the boundaries of Seleucia Pieria (Samandag), Turkey. Image credit: Carole Raddato - CC BY-SA 2.0

The 1,380-meter-long tunnel was built (entirely by human resources)  as a water channel in the 2nd century. Today the channel is dry but still worth admiring the ancient skills of the Roman builders and engineers.

During the reign of Emperor Vespasian (69-79 AD), the Roman governors of Seleucia Pieria (Samandag), the port city for Antioch ad Orontes (Antakya), decided to divert a river.

Several Roman emperors were very concerned and ordered canals to be dug to prevent this process, but in the end, this was in vain.

The entrance of the Vespasianus Titus Tunnel, an ancient water tunnel built in the 1st century AD during the reign of the Roman emperor Vespasianus within the boundaries of Seleucia Pieria (Samandag), Turkey. Image credit: Carole Raddato - CC BY-SA 2.0

The city was under the threat of floods descending from the mountains and flowing through the town, and the harbor was silted up and became inoperative. The Roman emperor, Vespasianus, ordered the building of a tunnel by digging the mountain to divert the floodwaters threatening the harbor.

Legionnaires, sailors, and prisoners received the order to cut a channel along and through the rock for about 1.4 km (nearly a mile). This structure is one of the most remarkable Roman engineerings
in the region. It is not only because the tunnel's size but also ingenuity of the people who created it.
The construction of the Titus tunnel did not start during the reign of Emperor Titus (79-81 AD). It began under Titus' father Vespasian time, and ended under Emperor Antoninus Pius in mid-2nd century AD.

The tunnel consists of several sections, and the system's hydraulic capacity is based on the determination of water surface levels through step-by-step integration.

Building inscription of the tunnel naming the emperors Vespasian and Titus. Image credit: Carole Raddato - CC BY-SA 2.0

The tunnel is considered to be a Roman engineering marvel. It was cut through solid rock in a relatively short period, and the workers' job was challenging. It also offers an excellent example of Romans capable of manifesting ingenuity in facing and solving problems such as flooding.
According to an inscription, the tunnel was not finished until the reign of Antoninus Pius (138-161).

The inscription reads: "Divine Vespasian and Divine Titus made it."
There are also some Greek words in the inscription's lower part that was most likely added much later.

The Vespasianus Titus tunnel - an impressive masterpiece of the Roman engineers - has survived until today without much damage.

Written by – A. Sutherland AncientPages.com Staff Writer

Updated on January 24, 2023

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