Vryokastro (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: Βρυόκαστρο) is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

Kythnos Kythnos (, ), commonly called Thermia (), is a Greek island and Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in the Western Cyclades between Kea (island), Kea and Serifos. It is from the Athenian harbor of Piraeus. The municipality Kythn ...

, Greece. It is considered as the ancient capital of the island. It was inhabited from the 12th century BC until the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...

. It was called Kythnos in the ancient times and the island was named after it. It is also referred to as Ovriokastro and Rigokastro.

Location

Vryokastro is on the northwestern side of the island, between the bays of Merichas and Apokrisi. The town had an area of 300 acres ONVERT and was surrounded by

city walls A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with to ...

. Part of it the town was the present-day rocky islet of Vryokastraki, which was at that time linked to the town by land. Underwater surveys and excavations show that before the sea level rise, which resulted in the separation of the rocky islet from the coast, there were buildings which are now in the water along with the now underwater walls.

The City

The

excavation Excavation may refer to: * Archaeological excavation * Excavation (medicine) * ''Excavation'' (The Haxan Cloak album), 2013 * ''Excavation'' (Ben Monder album), 2000 * ''Excavation'' (novel), a 2000 novel by James Rollins * '' Excavation: A Mem ...

of the area is ongoing. To date, public buildings, an aqueduct, an

acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens ...

, two

necropolis A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' (). The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distan ...

es, a harbor, a sanctuary, a temple, a monumental mound and a large building of the Classical and

Hellenistic period In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

have been found in the settlement's area.

Sanctuary

From 2000 to 2016 an excavation of an unplundered sanctuary of the Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic periods was performed. The temple of the sanctuary was intact and contained all the offerings in their place. Excavation south of the temple revealed two altars as well as an extensive repository of offerings that also contained hundreds of valuable objects.

Monumental mound and public building

Located west of the sanctuary its exploration began in 2009. It is thought to be associated with the city's

Agora The agora (; , romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Ancient Greece, Greek polis, city-states. The literal meaning of the word "agora" is "gathering place" or "assembly". The agora was the center ...

during the Hellenistic period. A little lower than the mound, a two-storey building was excavated that is believed to have been the city's prytaneum (rectorate) during the Classical and Hellenistic period.

Upper City sanctuary complex

It consists of a series of buildings excavated and reclaimed between 2016 and 2018. These buildings are located in a row of 800 meters length. They are mentioned with caveats as the temples of

Asclepius Asclepius (; ''Asklēpiós'' ; ) is a hero and god of medicine in ancient Religion in ancient Greece, Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology. He is the son of Apollo and Coronis (lover of Apollo), Coronis, or Arsinoe (Greek myth), Ars ...

Cabeiri In Greek mythology, the Cabeiri or Cabiri (, ''Kábeiroi''), also transliterated Kabeiri or Kabiri, were a group of enigmatic chthonic deities. They were worshipped in a mystery cult closely associated with that of Hephaestus, centered in the no ...

Aphrodite Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

, and

Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...

.{{Cite web , date=10 February 2016 , title=Βρυόκαστρο Κύθνου 2015 , url=https://www.archaiologia.gr/blog/2016/02/10/βρυόκαστρο-κύθνου-2015/ , access-date=2022-07-12 , website=Αρχαιολογία Online , language=el

Vryokastraki

Excavated from 2018 to 2020, its findings document the human presence in the 12th century BC on the island. When in the antiquity it was connected to the coast, it formed the western part of the city's harbor. The excavations revealed a monumental hill, a monumental altar, the first three-aisled Paleochristian basilica found on the island and a 90-metre-long complex of buildings with 15 rectangular rooms.

Underwater research and excavation

From 2005 to 2011 underwater research and excavations were carried out in the ancient port of Vryokastro, present day Mandraki Bay. Buildings were found on the shore and on the seabed, the entire harbor was cartographed, and a building that appears to be part of the wall was excavated.

References

Archaeological sites on the Aegean Islands Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Greece Kythnos Ancient Cyclades Former populated places in Greece