17 June 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Ancient Greeks Built a Road to Haul Cargo Overland: The Father of the Railway: Diolkos

The Diolkos, an ambitious road that crossed the entire Isthmus of Corinth and was partially paved with stone, was built by the ancient Greeks as early as 600 B.C.

At that time, ships traveling between the Ionian and the Aegean had to circumnavigate the Peloponnese, an often dangerous and stormy route of roughly 212 miles (340 km). The solution was to build the diolkos, a stone-paved road between the port on the Gulf of Corinth (Ionian Sea) and the port on the Saronic Gulf (Aegean Sea).

Although the archaeological evidence is sketchy, it appears that from one port to the other, boats or cargo (or both) were loaded onto wheeled devices and dragged across the isthmus. One section of the road featured purposefully grooved tracks—considered among the earliest known railways in recorded history.

The Diolkos was “the first systematic attempt to facilitate the portage of merchandise and warships from the Saronic to the Corinthian Gulf and vice versa,” says Dr. Georgios Spyropoulos, assistant director of the Corinthian Ephorate of Antiquities.

One of the greatest technological achievements of antiquity, the ancient pathway ran roughly parallel to the current Corinth Canal. Amazingly, remnants of the pathway can still be clearly seen in a few locations around Corinth, primarily on the School of Engineering’s property.

Long Section of the Diolkos located on a Greek Army Base north of the Corinthian Canal
Long Section of the Diolkos located on a Greek Army Base north of the Corinthian Canal

There was a stone ramp where ships heading east would arrive at the northwest end of the Diolkos, where Poseidonia now stands in Corinth. Slaves then used enormous ropes to pull them up the ramps.

The men then dragged them up onto a sturdy wooden frame that stood atop the ramp. To make the ships as light as possible, their masts and other movables were removed once they touched down on dry land. Then, using enormous winches driven by multiple men, the enormous vessels were turned on a ninety-degree angle to align them with the Diolkos. Next, they would be pulled up another stone ramp to get them atop an iron undercarriage.

These enormous wheels, which resembled the undercarriages of a freight train today, ran the length of both sides and would carry the vessels to the opposite end of the Diolkos. Moving such massive vessels overland in this manner is a feat of engineering and brute strength, even though the road’s gradient only increased by about three percent.

Corinth Canal in Greece
Corinth Canal in Greece

Human strength and advanced technological know-how enabled the Diolkos to operate for many centuries, evoking memories of the slaves hauling and shifting the enormous blocks that made up the Pyramids in ancient Egypt. These devices were in operation for many centuries. The stones’ deep grooves guaranteed that the undercarriage and its priceless load would remain securely on course until they reached the other side of the isthmus.

Various ancient rulers, including Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great, considered digging a canal across the Isthmus of Corinth. In A.D. 67, the Roman Emperor Nero attempted to build a canal between Corinth’s ports using thousands of slaves, but the project was soon abandoned.

In the 1800s, the Greek government decided to sponsor theconstruction of the Corinth Canal. It was started in 1889 and completed in 1893, fulfilling a dream more than 2,000 years old.

The canal is between 69 feet (21 m) and 82 feet (25 m) wide, cutting through limestone. Although the canal lacks locks, boats can be controlled by raising and lowering submersible bridges at either end of the waterway. The Peloponnese, which is now officially an island, is connected to the rest of Greece by a highway bridge that spans the top of the canal.

Unfortunately, the Corinth Canal proved difficult to use for several reasons. The precarious cliff walls were prone to erosion and landslides that obstructed passage, and it was too narrow for contemporary ships. In the waterway, strong tides made sailing challenging as well. The canal is now primarily used by small pleasure crafts and tourist cruise boats.

Cover Photo: Ancient Diolkos stone road allowed ships to go from Ionian to Aegean. Twitter/The Wrath of Gnon

Related Articles

The ruins of a temple dedicated to Goddess Kubaba found for the first time in ancient city of Kastabala, southern Türkiye

17 December 2023

17 December 2023

Ruins of a temple belonging to the goddess Kubaba were found in the Ancient City of Kastabala. The ancient city...

A Large Copper Age Necropolis Discovered in Italian Town

16 February 2024

16 February 2024

In the town of San Giorgio Bigarello, near the northern Italia city of Mantua, a large Copper Age necropolis dating...

Archaeologists unearthed fresh evidence that bedbugs came to Britain with the Romans

3 February 2024

3 February 2024

Archaeologists working the Roman garrison site of Vindolanda in Northumberland, south of Hadrian’s Wall, have discovered new proof that the...

Monastery Behind the Clouds “Sümela”

26 April 2021

26 April 2021

Trabzon has hosted tens of civilizations throughout history, and as a result, it is home to a plethora of historical...

A unique golden sun bowl was discovered during an archaeological survey in Ebreichsdorf, Austria

3 October 2021

3 October 2021

A golden sun bowl and several hundred bronze objects were discovered during archaeological excavations in a prehistoric settlement in today’s...

A rare 2,500-year-old shipwreck found off the Greek island of Kythera

5 November 2021

5 November 2021

A rare shipwreck from the ancient era was discovered during the maritime survey for the Crete-Peloponnese subsea link. The Independent...

Three-Year-Old Discovers 3,800-Year-Old Canaanite Seal at Archaeological Site of Tel Azekah

2 April 2025

2 April 2025

At the site of the famous battle between David and Goliath, a three-year-old girl named Ziv Nitzan discovered a scarab-shaped...

Statue heads of “Aphrodite” and “Dionysus” were found in Aizanoi Ancient City in Turkey’s

30 October 2021

30 October 2021

The statue heads of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, and Dionysus, the god of wine, were unearthed in...

3 Bronze Shields and Helmet of 2700 Years Old Belonging to Urartians Found in Ayanis Castle

8 September 2024

8 September 2024

Three bronze shields and a bronze helmet dedicated to Haldi, the chief god of the Urartians, were discovered during excavations...

The Colossal Nordic Bronze Age Hall Unearthed in Germany May Be the Legendary King Hinz Meeting Hall

5 November 2023

5 November 2023 1

A colossal hall from the Bronze Age was discovered during excavations near the “royal grave” of Seddin (Prignitz district) northwest...

Medieval ‘Testicle Dagger’ Unearthed at Swedish Fortress

19 May 2025

19 May 2025

Archaeologists in Gothenburg, southwestern Sweden, have made a rather striking discovery at the site of the ancient Gullberg Fortress: a...

Maya city Tikal put today’s urban gardens to shame

26 June 2021

26 June 2021

The Maya civilization was known for its achievements in art, architecture, mathematics, astronomy, and calendar systems. Tikal, the ancient Maya...

A princely tomb discovered in the infrastructure project of the A7 Ploieşti-Buzău highway in Romania

20 December 2022

20 December 2022

An impressive archaeological discovery took place on the Ploiești-Buzău section of the Moldova Highway. The excavations uncovered a princely tomb,...

Anglo-Saxon monasteries were more resilient to Viking attacks than thought

31 January 2023

31 January 2023

Researchers from the University of Reading’s Department of Archaeology have found new evidence that Anglo-Saxon monastic communities were more resistant...

Drone photos reveal Venice of the Fertile Crescent

16 October 2022

16 October 2022

A drone survey of Lagash, a site located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, revealed that the 4,900-year-old settlement was...