Irokastro

Irokastro is a dry-stone fortification in ruins, occupying the entire plateau of a steep, rocky hill on the south side of Naxos, just north of Panormos bay. It is absent from historical sources and has never been archaeologically examined, so its dating rests on inference. The lack of binding mortar complicates matters, but it is almost certainly not ancient. Most likely it was raised to shelter the local population when Saracen pirate raids began troubling the Aegean, perhaps in the 7th or 8th century AD. It may belong to the defensive programme of the Byzantine emperor Leo III, and it bears similarities to the castle of Kalogeros on the island's north side.

The enclosure runs 510 metres around an irregular perimeter, with walls up to 1.90 metres thick, and covers some 18,000 square metres at altitudes between 184 and 261 metres. A possible tower stands on the north-east, and an outer wall of about 330 metres guards the gentler northern approach. The gate is lost, probably on that side. Thirty-one one-room and two-room buildings survive, mostly at foundation level, with no church among them, plus a plaster-lined cistern. The walls remain well preserved along their length, incorporating natural rock on the steep western flank.