Tower of Kirras

The Tower of Kirras stands close to the sea, a modest survivor of a port that once served Delphi. The ancient town of Kirra was important as Delphi's harbour, and it kept that role through Roman and Byzantine times. The tower itself is a puzzle: it is labelled Byzantine, but it might equally be Frankish. Its builders used stone blocks taken from the ancient harbour and from the nearby acropolis of Kreousa, so the structure is a patchwork of older masonry. What remains is a square tower of 7.10 metres per side, with walls 1.50 metres thick and a surviving height of just 3 metres at the south-west corner. No door or window openings survive, and the interior is choked with its own fallen rubble. The condition is rather poor, but the tower still speaks of a busy coastline where ancient religion, Roman administration and medieval defence overlapped.