Monuments

Mariana is a region about 4 km north of Olynthos. During the Byzantine period, there used to be a village with the same name. At the end of the 14th century, the region became property of the Athonite Docheiariou Monastery. Then, (around 1375) the Monastery built the Tower for the defense of its estates.

The Byzantine tower of Mariana is a listed historical monument, (decision of declaration, MD MoC/ARCH/B1/Φ35/526/12/7-1-81 GGG 65/B/30-1-81) and it is located to the north of the current settlement of Olynthos, on top of a small hill overlooking the surrounding cultivated lands along the provincial road.

Nowadays, the surviving tower is half-ruined, yet still, high enough to be considered as one of the most impressive towers in Chalkidiki. There are three levels and a basement; it is almost square in plan with external dimensions 8.7 x 7.2m, with an indoor usable area of 16 sqm in the basement and 25 sqm in the main hall of the ground floor, which are preserved intact. The interior floor heights range from 3 – 3.8 m. The total surviving height of the tower on the main face is 16 m.

It is well built and perhaps one of the most remarkable towers in Chalkidiki. Architectural spolia from the nearby church of St. Nicholas were used in its masonry. The floors of the tower were accessed by a “cochlea”, an interior, built, spiral staircase, part of which is still preserved. On the west side of the tower, the ceramic abbreviation of the word “Docheiariou” is still preserved. 

The tower was initially five stories high, with a basement and a chapel covered by a dome on the top floor. All intermediate floors were wooden (completely destroyed now) and only the ground floor ceiling was vaulted, which is preserved in fairly good condition to this day.

Nowadays, the top floor is completely destroyed, while the west and south walls of the building are preserved up to the height of the ground floor ceiling. The east side is better preserved, which has always been the main and most impressive face, and the one visible from the main access road.

The condition of the tower is constantly deteriorating. The preserved walls, half-demolished and unroofed, exposed to weather and without adequate bracing, present severe and potentially dangerous cracking. Thus, a visit to the monument is not yet possible until the restoration of the building is completed.

A little further north, at a distance of 150 m from the tower, one can see the ruins of a large three-aisled Early Christian basilica, of which the conch of the Bema is nearly entirely preserved, including its quadrant. Within the conch of the early Christian church lies the chapel of St. Nicholas. It is notable that the conch of the basilica preserves the Middle Byzantine phase of masonry, which indicates that the church remained in use until the Middle Byzantine years. The western part of the church is underneath the current provincial road and its full disclosure will pave the way for the realignment of the road. It is a quite remarkable building, the presence of which cannot yet be justified, as no similar settlement has been detected in the region.

To the southeast of the tower, at a distance of 120 m, on the opposite side of the road, there is a “two-eyed” (dhiophthalmos) Byzantine watermill, which has not been excavated to date so as to fully reveal its form and dimensions, and it is a monument protected under the same decision of declaration, MD MoC/ARCH/B1/Φ35/526/12/7-1-81 GGG 65/B/30-1-81). The presence of the watermills shows that the area in the Byzantine and post-Byzantine period concentrated significant production activities, thus confirming the role of the tower as a center for the protection of large-scale, organized estates. 

The aforementioned ancient buildings are exceptionally important for the region. Little is known about Byzantine Olynthos from written sources and the site has not yet been systematically excavated. The excavation of these buildings, along with the surrounding area of the tower of Mariana, will provide the first major archaeological finds, shedding light on the history of Byzantine Olynthos, which should be as impressive as Ancient Olynthos.

Kleanthis Doukas

References

Ιωακ. Αθ. Παπάγγελος, Χαλκιδική, σελ. 133-135, Μαλλιάρης – Παιδεία