Messages under the city

Do you know what lies right under our feet, in Athens?
An ancient underground tunnel, 23.5 km long, which brings water from Parnitha to Dexameni in Kolonaki for 1900 years. It is the Hadrian’s Aqueduct!

And this is the first game app that takes you to its magical, underground world!

EYDAP, within the framework of this project, proceeds to the design and implementation of an attractive digital mobile application, aiming to highlight the historical importance of the Hadrian’s Aqueduct, the complexity of its design and its historical importance as well as to raise public awareness of the possible uses of its water.

Download the application and connect to the Hadrian’s Aqueduct! Discover its secrets! When you sign in, you immediately connect with one of the Hadrian’s Aqueduct wells and you are able to read the messages that float in it.
Find the wells on the map and find out the exact places the Hadrian’s Aqueduct passes through. Spot one of the 228 visible wells and walk in the city to discover them. Do you think that its water flows under your neighborhood?

Go over a well, open the app and “lift” the messages that are currently flowing through the Hadrian Aqueduct, literally under your feet. “Drop” your own virtual message in one of the Hadrian’s Aqueduct
wells and let the water carry it, until some other user lifts it from one of the next wells. Explore how the aqueduct’s water might be useful to you.

The DROP A MESSAGE application was implemented by EYDAP as part of the Cultural H.ID.R.A.N.T. project, with the aim of highlighting the historical importance of the Hadrian’s Aqueduct, the complexity of its design and its historical importance as well as raising public awareness of the possible uses of its water.

The application 

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The Hadrian's Aqueduct

The Hadrian's Aqueduct of Athens was built between 125-134 A.D. by the Roman Emperor Hadrian.

It is the longest aqueduct – 23,5 km -of its kind in Europe and the only one that is still functioning today. The Hadrian was reused periodically from the ancient times until the 1960s, providing water to the city of Athens.
It collects the underground water that penetrates it along its length, and it is transported with the help of gravity, as the canal has been constructed with a continuous slight tilt.
It is an exceptional technological achievement due to its large scale, the precision in its construction and its durability over the centuries. It was created with its starting point from Parnitha and its ending point towards Kolonaki. To complete its construction the plan was to dig vertical wells at every 40 to 50 meters, from the surface up to the desired depth and then to proceed digging horizontally, between them, until they reached each other.

Although the Hadrian’s Aqueduct is hidden, it is not completely invisible. Its channel is underground throughout the entire length of 23.5 km, at depths ranging from 3 to 40 meters but as we walk along its direction, we can spot many of the ancient wells, that are sealed with stone-built constructions, the so called ‘fanoi’.

EYDAP is responsible for any use of the Hadrian water. Nowadays, projects and initiatives have been launched to re-use the water of the Hadrian’s Aqueduct for non-drinking uses, such as watering, washing, fountains, etc.

One of these projects is carried out in Municipality of Halandri as part of the Cultural H.ID.R.A.N.T project through the Urban Innovative Actions (UIA) program, with the aim of extending the major project to all the 8 municipalities it runs through: Acharnes, Metamorphosis, Kifissia, Heraklion, Maroussi, Halandri, Psychiko and Athens.

Visit www.culturalhidrant.eu, find out more about Cultural H.ID.R.A.N.T., the Hadrian’s Aqueduct as well as the project of highlighting the monument and putting it to use as a water resource.

How can I use Hadrian's Aqueduct water?

For plants

Water is not unlimited on our planet. The habit of using drinking, running water for watering is already outdated around the world while, nowadays, all eyes turn to turn to alternative water sources. We can water our plants with monitored irrigation machines, with watering machines or watering cans even by using water from the Hadrian's Aqueduct! Gardens, flower beds, parks and squares can be taken care of, and our city could become greener.

In cleanliness

Hadrian's Aqueduct water is not drinkable, but it is free from pathogens. It is ideal for cleaning public areas and generally for cleaning areas where big amounts of water are needed, thus saving the drinking, tap water.

In sanitation areas

The use of drinking water in sanitation areas is a burden for the planet and deprives us of saving drinking water. The construction of non-drinking water networks for such uses is a practice based on rational and sustainable water management.

Washing the car

Every year thousands of cubic meters of clean water are spent on car washes or by domestic users who can wash their car at home. By using non-drinking water from the Hadrian's Aqueduct, we decrease unnecessary waste of water resources, and we can enjoy the same result!