Πληροφορίες τοπωνυμίου

Skiti

About 6 km inland, W of Palaiokastro and a little N of modern Skiti there is another ancient site. This is on a high bluff to the S of and overlooking the river Potamia or Aguiokampos which flows between the masses of Ossa and Pelion. The bluff falls off steeply to W, N, and E, so the only easy access is along the neck from the S. A city wall, ca. 1,250 m in circuit, ran around the bluff. It is best preserved where it was originally strongest, on the S, where one rectangular tower is preserved; the rest of the wall is somewhat zigzagged, but was apparently built without towers. The wall is about one m thick, built of rough field stones laid in fairly regular courses, cemented with mortar. Here and there some bigger stones are incorporated. In the SW part of the enclosure are the remains of a stuccoed cistern, and Leake reported some remains of buildings. The site at Skiti controls the only practicable route from the N along the Magnesian coast and inland to Larissa or the Gulf of Pagasni. It is argued by Pritchett that the site at Palaiokastro is Herodotos' Meliboia, and the site at Skiti the Meliboia of 169 B.C. The date of the Skiti site, however, remains uncertain, although evidently late. It has been suggested that it might be Byzantine Kentauropolis, a fort said to have been restored by Justinian (Procop. De aed. 4.3.13).

T. S. Mac Kay, ed.
This extract is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites, Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.

• http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Per...