Diolkos

The Diolkos was a paved stone trackway across the Isthmus of Corinth, built around 600 BC under the tyrant Periander, enabling ships to be hauled overland between the Saronic and Corinthian gulfs. The trackway stretched 6 to 8.5 km with parallel grooves approximately 1.5 m apart carved into limestone pavement, accommodating wheeled platforms (holkoi) that carried vessels up to 30 tons. It remained operational for over 650 years, sparing mariners the dangerous 700 km voyage around the Peloponnese. Greek archaeologist Nikolaos Verdelis excavated a continuous 800 m stretch between 1956-62. Sections remain visible near the modern Corinth Canal, though 19th-century canal construction destroyed portions of the ancient road.