PREHISTORIC ENGINEERING AT LAKE COPAIS. 217 



the sea and fifty -two metres above the bottom of Lake Copais. 

 Across this depression, from near the openings of the Katabothra 

 of Bynia in the Bay of Kephalari, runs a line of ancient wells or 

 shafts in a general direction from southwest to northeast, not in 

 a straight line, but following the contour of the hill, ending on 

 the east side not far from where the katabothra opens into the 

 Valley of Larymna. There are sixteen of these wells, cut through 

 the hard, gray limestone of which the mountain is composed, and 

 carefully squared, with an average horizontal section of three to 

 four metres. The first shaft, on the west side, is five hundred 

 metres from the lake ; the sixteenth, on the east side, two hundred 

 and twenty-five metres from the opening. The wells are at an 

 average distance from each other of about one hundred and sixty 

 metres, and the whole distance from opening to opening is about 

 twenty-four hundred metres. 



These shafts are not mentioned by any ancient writer, but 

 have been frequently described by modern travelers, notably 

 by Forchhammer, who has given the most complete description 



87.9,3 



SECTION BETWEEN WELLS 15 AND 16. 



of them. The general conclusion in regard to their object was 

 that they were designed to facilitate the clearing of the kata- 

 bothra when, from caving or other causes, it had become clogged ; 

 but in 1846, M. Sauvage, who examined the shafts critically and 

 cleared several of them, came to the conclusion that they were 

 part of a tunnel scheme, and were sunk with the purpose of giv- 

 ing many points of attack to the workmen engaged in excavating 

 the tunnel instead of a single one at each end. To the ancients, 

 ignorant of the use of explosives, this was of great importance, 

 for the cutting with hammer and chisel was arduous and slow. 

 Even with these numerous shafts, which must themselves have 

 been a difficult undertaking, the excavation of so long a tunnel 

 would have cost the labor of many years. In 1882 several more 

 were cleared and thoroughly examined the first and the second on 

 the west slope toward the lake and the thirteenth, fourteenth, 

 fifteenth, and sixteenth on the east slope of the hill. The first 



