Melanthio

The ruins of a substantial but unidentified medieval castle stand on a wooded hill three kilometres north-north-west of Melanthio village in Kilkis prefecture, four kilometres south-east of Eptalofos. Its history is entirely unknown: no source names it, and "Melanthio" is merely the modern village's name. The masonry, irregular stones bound with mortar and no brick, alongside ceramic surface finds, points to the Early Byzantine period, perhaps the third or fourth century AD, when such refuges were built as the Pax Romana faltered. It was likely abandoned by the sixth century as barbarian raids intensified.

The enclosure, 805 metres around and protecting 2.6 hectares, survives almost complete, though dense vegetation hides much of it. Walls reach 1.70 metres thick and stand up to four metres high on the eastern side, the most vulnerable approach. A tower's remains crown the summit, near a small one-room church and box-shaped tombs, but no internal buildings or perimeter towers survive, leaving its purpose, perhaps a temporary refuge, open to question.