Lost Rivers Of Time

Nearly every capital city in the western world has lost a river or two (dozen) over the centuries and decades ....

The Entrance To The Fleet Canal 1750 - After River Straightened.

This is particularly true over the last 50-60 years in Europe, where a rush to redevelop after WWII, led to many smaller rivers being paved over.

In London alone, this has resulted in the loss of the following historic waterways from North and South of the River Thames:

1. The Walbrook.
2. The River Fleet (the largest).
3. The River Tyburn.
4. The Tyburn Brook.
5. Hackney Brook.
6. The River Moselle.
7. Muswell Stream.
8. The River Westbourne.
9. Counter's Creek.
10. Stamford Brook.
11. River Brent (partly underground).
12. River Rom (partly underground).
13. Earl's Sluice.
14. The River Peck.
15. The River Neckinger.
16. The River Effra.
17. The Falconbrook.
18. The Graveney River.
19. The River Quaggy (part subterranean).
20. The Beverley Brook (part subterranean).
21. Sudbrook.

I guess the Tyburn and the Fleet, are the two that stand out from the list in my minds eye, as they were both open and used in the British histories I read at school. But London is not alone in this loss of rivers and waterways.

Paris once had Menilmontant brook, which is now channelled underground as a sewer. It has also largely lost the Bièvre river, of which eleven kilometres are canalised under slabs, and a further five kilometres have disappeared under rubble and the urbanisation in Paris itself. The Bièvre now forms a rainwater system management system for the capitol.

In fact as I mentioned earlier, probably all the world’s major cities can list at least one lost, brook or stream ..... I was reminded of this with a story from Athens, which due to the economic crisis of the last decade and historic mismanagement may be about to get one of its historic rivers back again.

The Llisos River In Athens Is No Longer At Its Best .....

The River Ilisos was mentioned by Plato, and was used by philosophers, from Socrates to the Cynics, to teach on its banks, but it was covered over in the post 1948 development of Athens, as the city rushed to modernise. However both lax maintenance, and natural erosion, have now left the tram route that followed the rivers old path, in such a poor state, that not only did the trams stop running, but the river now threatens to become exposed once again if the tunnel collapses. The river, which was tunnelled under what is now Vasileos Konstantinou, and Kallirois Avenues, only emerges briefly in a thicket and reed bed behind the Temple of Olympia Zeus ... before disappearing under the Stygian gloom of more concrete again.

A plan has now been put forward to avoid spending the millions of Euros on repairing the tunnel, and instead bringing the river to the surface for a lot less money as part of a parkway.

The Athens transport and water companies are both on board with the scheme, particularly as the trams haven't run down the route for over 6 months. There is also the little matter of a flooding risk, because if the Ilisos tunnel collapses, it will likely block the natural course of the river, and could result in the flooding the entire city centre .... so reopening the river is a win win you might think.

However, this is Athens, this is Greece ..... so watch this space.