Frankish tower of Lilaia

The Frankish tower of Lilaia is a late medieval tower near Lilaia, in Phocis, central Greece.[1][2]

The tower in 2013

Lilaia lies on the northern slopes of Mount Parnassus and close to the springs of the Boeotic Cephissus.[1] The tower lies about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) southeast of the modern settlement, at the site of the acropolis of ancient Lilaea.[1][2] The tower is built on top of the well-preserved Classical-era city wall,[2] and its lower part is built entirely of reused spolia, whereas the upper parts are built with quarried stone and brick.[1]

The tower measures 13.3 metres (44 ft) by 7.6 metres (25 ft), with walls about 1.65 metres (5.4 ft) thick, and survives to a height of approximately 10 metres (33 ft).[2] Its entrance was above-ground at the level of the first floor, on the western wall.[2] Its exception size makes it very likely that it was the centre of an estate or fief.[3]

References
  1. Koder & Hild 1976, p. 202.
  2. Lock 1986, p. 122.
  3. Lock 1986, pp. 118, 122.

Sources
  • Koder, Johannes; Hild, Friedrich (1976). Tabula Imperii Byzantini, Band 1: Hellas und Thessalia (in German). Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. ISBN 978-3-7001-0182-6.
  • Lock, Peter (1986). "The Frankish Towers of Central Greece". The Annual of the British School at Athens. 81: 101–123. doi:10.1017/S0068245400020104].

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