Ruins of a Roman or Early-Byzantine castle and fortified settlement, 4 km north of the village of Sfelinos in the region of Serres, on a steep hill called Grandiskos.

Location & Strategic Scope

The castle is located on a naturally fortified hill, along a ridge of the Menoikion mountain. Although it is called “Castle of Sfelinos”, the nearest village to the castle is Skopia (1.5 km to its east).
The hill is difficult to reach, since it has steep slopes on all sides. It is surrounded by two deep ravines to the north and south. The only access point to the hill is via a long narrow ridge, 400 meters long from the north-east, leading to a small neck below the north-east end of the castle. This was the most vulnerable point and at this point mainly, a wall is preserved.
The castle is located at a fairly high altitude: 900-929 meters (according to the GYS map).
Apart from its naturally fortified position, the castle was located in a strategic point, since it had excellent visibility that could oversee large sections from the plains of Serres and Drama, as well as the opposite mountain ranges (Pangaeo, Kerdyllia, Vertiscos) and their passages.

The Name of the Castle

The name Grandiskos or Gradistos is Slavic and means town or castle. A similar name exists on a hill called Grandiskos or Gradiskos in Agio Pneuma, Serres, and on the hill Grandista in Achladochori, Serres, both of which are castles. Also in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace there are other locations - at least 2 - with a similar name and with ruins of fortifications (not included in Kastrologos).
In the Archaeological bulletin 37/B2 (1982) the hill is named “Alexander the Great”, while on the map of the Army Geographical Service it is mentioned as “Ktismeno”. These two names are newer and probably not in use.

History

This is a mountainous fortified settlement with a long perimeter (750-800m) that was probably created during the Roman Period, while it is unknown how long it survived - probably until the end of the Early Byzantine Period.
Gradiskos Hill has been declared by the Archaeological Service as an archaeological site. In the Archaeological Bulletin 37/B2 (1982) it is stated that “on the hill in question there is an ancient acropolis probably of Roman times with remains of a wall and buildings inside. Unpainted pottery, probably from Roman times, is mentioned in the area”.
It is worth mentioning that south-east and south-west of the castle, at the locations of Slivna and Lochtista respectively, quite lower but not too far, pit-shaped and box-shaped ancient tombs have been found which possibly are related to the castle.
The duration of the castle is unknown. Similar fortified settlements of the late Roman period or early Byzantine times have also been found on the Menoikion mountain, such as the castle Agio Pneuma and the castle Chionochori. For these castles it is assumed that they were in use until the 5th-7th century. A.D. and were abandoned when the barbarian raids began (by Huns, Avars, Slavs, etc.).

Several centuries later, during the Late Byzantine Period, a village called Gradistos is reported in the area, which is probably identified with the settlement on the hill Grandiskos.
It is noticed that the toponym has been preserved to this day with a slight corruption (Gradistos–Grandiskos).
As mentioned above, the word means a castle or a fortified city. However, the late-Byzantine settlement seems to have been simply a village and not a castle, as there is no mention of a castle nor any trace of a late-Byzantine fortification.
Perhaps, the creation of the newest settlement is the reason for the destruction of the wall, since the fortification must have served as a source of building material for the building of the village.

During the Late Byzantine period, the settlement coexisted with the village of Sfelinos for which there are references in documents between the years 1328-1345 but also with the farm Iskrizova or Grizova or Grizovos (references to documents from the period 1310-1357, including chrysobula of Stefanos Dousan and John V Palaiologos which recognize there possessions of the Monastery of Iberon). Grizova is today's village of Skopia.
All these villages, at that time, belonged to the Katepanikion of Zichna, whose existence is first mentioned in 1310. Sfelinos and Skopia were preserved as villages, throughout the period of the Turkish occupation and are inhabited to this day, in contrast to Grandiskos which seems to have been abandoned during the early Turkish occupation.

To recap, Grandiscos Hill seems to have been a fortified settlement of the Roman Period that was probably abandoned in the Early Byzantine Period. Later, most likely at the beginning of the Late Byzantine Period or even earlier, a village was created on the hill taking advantage of the location and the ready construction material of the castle.

Structure, Fortification & Buildings

Today, the castle is in a dilapidated state. In previous years, the area was used as a shooting field by the Greek Army, and this was stopped after appeals from the residents of the area.

The castle was surrounded by a strong wall with a perimeter of about 750-800m. It ran on an axis from southwest to northeast consisting of two long sides to the north and south that narrowed at the ends, forming a fusiform shape.
Within the walls there was a settlement. The construction of the wall consists of mudstone construction with connecting mortar between them and bricks. The wall is partially preserved in some places, at a sufficient height. From the rest of the wall, traces of its course are visible, except for a part of the northern side that has been completely covered by vegetation.

The best preserved part of the wall is on the northeastern side. It is a piece of the wall with a length of about 15-20m, a maximum height of 2.80m and a thickness of 1.60m (photos 1, 4, 6). Small square holes, 15-20 centimeters, can be observed on the surface of the wall, possibly from the construction scaffolding.

At the north-eastern end of the castle, where it was the most vulnerable point, a few remains of the wall are preserved (photo 5).

On the elongated southern side, the wall is preserved fragmentarily in three places, at a height of about 1.5-2 meters (photos 9, 11, 12). One of the gates of the castle was also found in the southeast side (photo 10).

At the southwest end, the wall is preserved only at the height of the foundations (photo 13).

Within the fortification was the settlement of the castle. In the past, foundations of approximately 200 houses and other public buildings were observed (D.Samsaris, 1976). Today, piles of stones, foundations of buildings and scattered ceramics can be seen everywhere. There are also a few plastered walls. All these formed the settlement of the castle which started from the plateau of the summit and spread on the slopes up to the walls. Most of these ruins must be the remains of the Late-Byzantine settlement from the village mentioned in 1355.

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