Among the towers that have been identified on Amorgos, the one in Agia Triada, next to the church of the same name, also known as the ‘Tower in the Village’, has stood out because of its state of preservation since 1841, when the monument was visited by Ludwig Ross. The current form of the monument, cleared of vegetation but even more so of more recent additions that altered its form, were carried out under the guidance and supervision of Prof. Lila Marangou from 1993 to 2002. Moreover, its satisfactory static state and the good condition of its building material, but above all the clarification of the elements of its surrounding area, are due to the same various works of investigation, cleaning, promoting and protection then achieved. The monument was fully published by Marangou after this last bout of renovation in a volume of the Archaeological Society of Athens.
Despite the difficulties of dating, it has been proposed that the tower was placed here in the late Classical period, and more specifically around the middle of the 4th century BC. It was a fortified building with an obvious defensive character, consisting of the main tower and a rectangular enclosed courtyard, within which storage areas were created to take the annual production of grain, oil, wine and legumes from the surrounding area. Given the nodal point at which this building complex was founded, it would have controlled the access road to Kastri, that is, to ancient Arkesini and its port at Kato Kampos, and signals and messages could be transmitted according to the system of beacons to reach other similar forts of southern Amorgos. However, a contentious matter remains unresolved, along with further unanswered questions about the ownership of the tower: were these forts actually part of a public network to protect the exploitation of the land belonging to the city of Arkesini? It is not impossible that they were private fortified residences, that is belonging to wealthy individuals who had no part in public affairs.
Bibliography
Marangou, L. (2005). Αμοργός ΙΙ. Οι Αρχαίοι Πύργοι. Athens: Archaeological Society.
