Ruins of dry stone fortification on the plateau of a rocky, steep hill on the south side of Naxos, a little north of Panormos (or Panermos) bay.

History

The history of the castle, which is not mentioned by historical sources, is not known. It has never been the subject of archaeological research, while the absence of binding mortar in the masonry makes its dating difficult.

It is almost certain that it is not an ancient castle. It is most likely that it was created to protect and shelter the population at the time when the big problems with the Saracen pirates in the Aegean began, i.e. around the 7th or 8th century AD.
We should remind here that the castle Apaliros, the most important castle of Naxos before the arrival of the Venetians, dates back to the beginning of the 8th century when the Byzantine emperor Leo III Isauros (717-741) implemented an extensive program to strengthen the defenses of the islands. Perhaps Irokastro is one of the fortifications of that period. It also has similarities with the castle of Kalogeros which is located on a similar hill on the north side of the island.

A little further south from the hill of Irokastro, and without having anything to do with it, there is an important prehistoric acropolis (photo 16) which dates to the Proto-Cycladic (PC) II and the first phase of the PC III period (ca. 2800-2200 BC). After the end of the 1st phase of PK III there are signs of violent destruction of this citadel and abandonment of the settlement with the most likely cause being some enemy raid. This citadel has since been abandoned and came to light again in 1963.

It should be noted that it is not known (to us) what is the origin of the name “Irokastro”.

Structure, Fortification & Buildings

The castle occupies the entire plateau of the top of the steep hill, extending over an area of approximately 18,000 sq.m., at an altitude ranging from 184 to 261 meters. The hill is surrounded by a simple fortified enclosure whose perimeter is 510 meters. The thickness of the walls reaches 1.90 m.
Its shape is irregular, following the morphology of the ground. On the NE side stands out a building that might have been a tower. The gate of the castle is not preserved. It was probably on the north side which is the most accessible.

The fortified enclosure is strengthened by an external wall on the northern side, which is developed lower, at the foot of the hill, as this side was the smoothest, and therefore the most vulnerable. The length of this outer wall is about 330 meters.
From the area and the total length of the fortifications, it is obvious that Irokastro was a relatively large castle and it must have housed a significant settlement at times.
The walls of the castle are satisfactorily preserved along their entire length and to a considerable height, with many sections, especially on the steep western side, completed by the rocks incorporated into the fortified enclosure.

The above defensive constructions of Irokastro seem to have all been built at the same time, in one building phase. These are stone structures made of relatively well-hewn local stones (marble slabs), without the use of binding mortar.

Within Irokastro, remains of buildings can be seen mainly in its northern part, the use of which cannot be determined. Thirty one-room and two-room buildings have been counted and strangely no building that looks like a church. The buildings (mostly at the foundation level) are made of dry stone like the walls, without plaster or binding mortar.

The remains of a unique cistern whose walls are plastered inside are preserved. It is possible that there are other water reservoirs that have not been spotted yet, as the castle is as mentioned large and there are no water sources on the hill.

Sources