Erimokastro

Erimokastro, whose name means “abandoned castle” or “castle in solitude,” is a steep, elongated ridge rising over 400 metres in southern Rhodes, about two kilometres east of Arnítha. It is one of three Rhodian fortifications bearing this vernacular name, and older maps sometimes label it Palaiókastro. Around the summit runs the irregular enceinte of a fortified Byzantine settlement, most probably dating from the Dark Centuries. The walls, up to 1.2 metres thick and preserved in places to about two metres, are built of quarry stone with occasional antique ashlars in the outer face, and lack towers or flanking works. Inside, dense vegetation and stone-robbing have erased most buildings, though two cisterns survive, along with quantities of pottery and brick fragments. A ruined structure in the north saddle, 12 by 7 metres with walls up to 2.5 metres high, may have been a Byzantine residential tower or a church. The site commands views towards Kárpathos, Chálki and several other Rhodian castles, suggesting possible use as a watchpost.