The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1893-06-02
A CANAL IN CRIMEA.
THE AGE AND HISTORY OF A WORLDS
WONDER UNKNOWN.

A Great Waterway Which a Russian Engi-
neer Thinks Was Built Means of De-
tense In Ancient Times-A Detailed Ac-
count of the Wonderful Structure.
The great Russian engineer Melni-
koff writes from Odessa to the Smith
sonian institution describing the ruins
of an ancient canal discovered in the
Crimea which he regards as one of the
wonders of the world. 1t is certainly 81
centuries old, and among similar ancient
objects of historic interest is second only
in age to the great pyramids. The hang
ing gardens of Babylon and the Colossus
of Rhodes are shrouded with no deeper
mysteries than the existence of this great
ditch, whose ruins can be traced for
long distance through the Crimean plain.
Whether it was q waterway in the olden
times and the pathway of ancient COM
MERGE between the Black sea and the sea
of Azov or a means of defense for the
people living in its vicinity is a question
which wise men, supposed to know all
about antiquities, cannot explain.
Xenophon, the distinguished Athenian,
who conducted the retreat of 10000
Greeks from the up country march, so
called, writes of bitches which were dug
by inhabitants of hostile territory
through which they passed as an i'm
pediment to their march. Water was
often turned into these, so that crossing
was rendered more difficult. Perhaps
the ancient and wonderful canal served
the same purpose on very large scale.
While it was of grand proportions, which
at that early day surpassed the engineer
ing feats of the Suez canal, the fortifica-
tons for its protection are no less inter-
esting. At each end of the western side
there was lofty castle, the ruins of
which remain to this day, the cubical
contents exceeding 100000 meters. A
part of these stones, as well as those
with which the bed of the canal was
paved its entire length, were removed
some time ago to build town which
adjoins.
During the Crimean war some of the
stones remaining were utilized in the
construction of hospitals for the wound
ed soldiers, which structures are still
standing. Along the banks of the canal
there were once at least six towers, but
what purpose they served, unless for de-
Tense, is uncertain. There was also a
high wall, which extended it's entire
length. At an equal distance from each
end there was a gigantic fortress, built
in the form of a square and covering
space of 80, 400 square meters. The ca
nal is as straight as an arrow its entire
length except at this point, where it
forms three sides of a square about the
fortress. Here there was a smaller canal
on the outer side, which may have pro-
vided greater security.
One of the gateways of the fortress is
still partially preserved, and through it
passes a dilapidated road. The canal
was built by Assande l of Bosporus in
the seventh century B. G. and is kilo-
meters long. Mention is made of this in
the writings of Pliny and Strabo, but
nothing is said about the great amount
of time and money expended in its con-
struction or for what special purpose it
was done. 1t passes by the modern town
of Perekop, and is not far from the
Greek city of Neapolis, whose name was
changed by Assande after the building
of the canal to Tapharas, which is the
Greek for ditch. Its width on the bot
tom was about meters and its depth
10 meters. Whether it served formerly
as great and towering fertilization or
not, it certainly contained water enough
to sail ships Of considerable burden.
Undoubtedly before the time of Christ
many ships used it as a short cut across
the peninsula between the two seas. The
bed is now dry, except for few stand
ing pools, but it is said that the oldest
inhabitants can remember when, for sew
eral miles in the central part, there was
sufficient water to form a roadway for
the lighter craft of the semibarbarous
people. This is accounted for by the
fact that some time in the fifteenth cen
tury the canal was repaired.
The Russian government has a project
under consideration of opening up
great waterway across the peninsula be-
N "a "a IN % "a m q N N n Rs