Tower and Fortification

This tower is a late Byzantine remnant, one of more than seventy such defences raised to protect the dependencies, or metochia, of the Mount Athos monasteries across Chalkidiki. It belonged to the Docheiarion monastery, whose claim to the land here dates to 1037. The name Perigardikeia means "around Gardikeia", a term for remote spots, and it later softened into Pyrgadikia, now the name of the nearby village. A document of 1409 first mentions a tower on this spot, so construction is reasonably placed at the century's start. The structure stands on a low hill by Kampos beach, about 100 metres from the sea and two kilometres northeast of the modern settlement. Its condition is poor: the maximum height reaches only 6.5 metres, the base measured 10 by 8 metres, and the interior is choked with rubble. The best-preserved side is the northeastern façade, where part of the main entrance remains visible. An outer wall, the "barbakas", once enclosed roughly half a hectare within a perimeter of about 300 metres; some 85 metres of it still stand, though not at full height.