Ancient Akanthos fortification #1374

Description

This tower was one of more than 70 that once protected the dependencies of the Mount Athos monasteries in Chalkidiki. The Tower of Koutsaki was part of the metochi (dependency) of Koutsaki, which belonged to the Iviron Monastery. According to monastery records, the tower was built between 1259 and 1283. It was destroyed by the Turks in 1821 during the Greek War of Independence.

After its destruction, the tower was never repaired or reused, but it remained standing until the 1920s when it was demolished with dynamite to repurpose its materials for the construction of the nearby school.

What remained of the tower was reduced to a pile of rubble, but recent clearing efforts have uncovered a small portion of the tower's foundation. Interestingly, it appears that the tower was built using spolia (reused building material) from the ancient city of Akanthos.