A very old castle in the shadow of mount Parnassus. The location was fortified since the era of the Pelasgi and remained in use until Medieval times.

Davlia used to be the Catalan fortress “la Dablia” , but there are only a few remains from the medieval period. Most of the ruins are from the hellenistic and the classical periods.

Structure, Fortification & Buildings

The base of the wall seems to date from the era of the Pelasgians, since prehistoric times. It is built with polygonal and rectangular stones. The shape of the wall is circular and the only entrance on the northwest side is protected by two towers. Of these only one (the left) belongs to the original wall, while the right is a later medieval building. This building, and other medieval bear testimony to the long use of the Acropolis Davlia.

The medieval walls are preserved only around the gate. The rest of the walls are still standing but are from the hellenistic period.

The main entrance to the Acropolis is called Sideroporta.

In the interior of the castle stand the ruins of the church of St. Theodore, through which the Christian tradition meets pagan. The church is medieval. Built on the foundations of the temple of Athena Polias and building material derived from this temple. Since only the church survived synthronon some columns.

At the top of the castle hill (where the column of the Army’s Geographical Service is located) are the remains of a tower (phot. 10,11) that was discovered relatively recently, in 1984.

The tower is preserved at a height of about 2 meters; its dimensions 5✖5 meters, about the thickness of its walls about 0.80 m.

Sources