The first major hydraulic project in Athens was constructed under the tyrant Peisistratos (in power between 546-527 BC) and his sons. Mostly carved as a tunnel at a depth reaching 14 m. Ceramic pipeline at the bottom. Greek hydraulic constructions were mostly subterranean for security reasons (not no be exposed to aliens, e.g. in case of war).The ends of the sections were appropriately shaped, so that each could be tightly fitted into the next, and were joined with cement or lead. The pipe sections had elliptic openings in their upper part, covered by ceramic covers, for their cleaning and maintenance. It is indeed a huge technological achievement, definitely more important than the Attic Metro of our days. This aqueduct is situated for the most part in a tunnel, up to 14 m deep. Parts of the tunnel have been located in too many places (with lower or higher degrees of certainty as to whether they belong to this very aqueduct), with a typical cross-section of up to one and a half m height. Pipes of terracotta with internal diameter of approximately 20 cm are placed inside the cross-section of the tunnel, with sleeves of extraordinary conception, openings for cleaning, orientation engravings and other technical elements (and with the name of the manufacturer, of course!). The gradient of the aqueduct is extremely favourable (over 2%). In the area of the present Hilton hotel alone, the gradient falls to approximately 0.5%. But perhaps even this was enough – such was the gradient at the tunnel of Eupalinos in Samos, constructed at the same age and for the same purpose (water supply of the city of Samos). Likewise, such is the minimum gradient that Vitruvius would suggest 500 years later.

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