The city- fortress
Platamonas is
located by the sea, on a hill at the southeast foot of Mount Olympus. A
city-fortress, it was founded during the mid-Byzantine period near the ancient
city of Heraklion. The name Platamon is first attested in a chrysobull
issued by Alexius III in 1198, granting the Venetians visiting privileges to
the city. During the rule of the Franks, from 1204 to 1224, the castle came
under the supervision of Rolando Piscia or Pise, who seems to have carried out
repair works and lent the castle its present form. Platamonas then came under
the rule of Theodore Comnenus Ducas, while
in the 14th century it was used in wars waged by Catacuzenus
and Apocaucus, then being referred to as a “small town” or “village”. Due to
its important strategic position, the castle of Platamon remained in use even
after its capture by the Turks, and was repaired and rebuilt many times during
the Ottoman period; in 1897,
heavy bombardment by the Greek naval commander Sachtouris forced the
Turks to abandon the castle. It remained desolate until the Second World War,
when the hill was reused as a fortified position.
The
Castle of Platamonas sits atop
a hill
next to the
Thessaloniki-Athens highway,
its central tower
dominating the
highest
point.
Archaeological excavations in the
northeast
side
of the castle area unearthed a Christian church
(Church A)
surrounded
by
a cemetery.
Evidence
points to this having been built in the 10th-11th century, as a one-aisled
church
decorated with wall paintings and exquisite
sculptures.
A narthex was subsequently added (14th
century), converting the
church into
a three-aisled basilica
with a new series of wall paintings.
An archaeological dig in
area A brought to light a cemetery
lying to the north and south of the church. More than 160 free
burials,
pit graves and
burials in
ciboria
have been excavated,
with
offerings
dating from
the
13th-14th
to the
16th-17th
century.
A
second,
small, one-aisled church
(church
B)
was located in
the southeast section
of the wall, decorated with frescoes
dating from
the mid 17th
century. Over
127
late
and
post-Byzantine
tombs, mostly
pit graves, were discovered
in the area immediately outside this
church,
mainly
containing burials
of infants
and children.
Of
interest are the mud walls of a building built around a courtyard with a well, and a small
rectangular room at the north end of the yard with a hearth and fireplace. This
building stands by the northern section of the city walls, and bears strong
evidence of use as a forge, probably during the Ottoman period. Other private
buildings – humble, one-roomed affairs surrounded by a cobbled courtyard - have
also been uncovered at various points in the castle, as well as sections of the
paved medieval city street plan.
Glossary (3)
narthex:
oblong reception area
extending
along
the western side
of a basilica. Originally the east portico
of the atrium,
it was later
incorporated into the
church, and served
as a waiting area for catechumens, who were not allowed to
attend the Divine
Liturgy.
three nave basilica:
a basilica with three naves.
wall paintings or murals:
Painted scenes on a wall or ceiling surface.
Information Texts (0)
Bibliography (3)
1. Βακαλόπουλος Α., Τα κάστρα του Πλαταμώνα και της Ωριάς Τεμπών και ο τεκές του Χασάν Μπαμπά, Thessaloniki, 1972
2. Βακαλόπουλος Α., Το κάστρο του Πλαταμώνα, 1940
3. Ευγενίδου Δ., Κάστρα Μακεδονίας και Θράκης, Βυζαντινή Καστροκτισία, Athens, 1997
Comments (0)