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Modern Description: Three and a half kilometers to the north along the east coast from Mytilene, a left turn leads off to the village of Moría. On the left (south), as the road turns to the west, are the visible remains of ancient quarries in the escarpment above. This was the source for the island's grey limestone; a number of unfinished blocks (monolithic columns) and the evidence of extensive cutting with picks and wedges can be seen in the rock face, dating from the period of the quarries' exploitation by the Romans. Stone from here was used for the construction of the magnificent aqueduct of the 2nd century AD, visible in the gorge to the southeast of the village of Moría. (At the narrowest point at the centre of the village of Moría, bear left for the road that skirts the village to the south side; the aqueduct comes into view after 300m.) The aqueduct brought water over a distance of more than 24km into the city of Mytilene, by a circuitous route from springs below the area of Megali Limni in the foothills of Mount Olympos, northwest of Aghiasos; another impressive bridge along its route traverses a steep gorge in the vicinity of Lambou Myli. The expenditure made on such an enterprise would indicate a substantial growth in population in the city during the prosperous period of Roman dominion.
The aqueduct at Moría is 170m in length and over 27m in height: only three of the arcades still stand almost to their full height. It presents a number of interesting characteristics: the dressing of the structure in a carefully drafted and rusticated facing of marble, with projecting cornice ledges, suggests that it was to be viewed not just as a functional structure, but also as a creation with aesthetic and architectural appeal. This appeal is further enhanced by a ‘streamlined' lightness of design by comparison with many similar constructions, imparted by the slimness of its buttressing LESBOS—the southeast 55 arches at the middle level and its elegantly tapering piers.
The aqueduct functions as part of a syphon system in which the water, after its descent down to the bridge, was driven by natural pressure in sealed pipes uphill again to a level slightly lower than that from which it started, from which point it continued its slowly descending trajectory towards the city. The structure's survival in perfect, plumb-line verticality throughout centuries of seismic movement is a testimony to the technical expertise with which it was constructed.
Wikidata ID: Q42295042
Trismegistos Geo: 34116
DARE: 29104

Info: McGilchrist's Greek Islands

(From McGilchrist’s Greek Islands, © Nigel McGilchrist 2010, excerpted with his gracious permission. Click for the books)

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