Castello Eurialo

Syracuse, Castello Eurialo

The Castello Eurialo or Fort Euryalos is an ancient fortification north-west of Syracuse in Sicily .

history

The facility is located on the highest point of the Epipoli plateau about seven kilometers northwest of Syracuse in what is now the Belvedere district. It was made between 402 and 397 BC. Built by Dionysius I. After Syracuse 414/13 BC When the third Greek expedition to Sicily had barely survived the attack of an Athenian armed force , the need to secure the city towards the inland had become clear. Dionysius therefore had the entire plateau surrounded by a total of around 32 kilometers long wall, taking advantage of the steep slopes of the terrain. The walls came together at the fortress Euryalos, which secured access there.

During the Second Punic War , Syracuse sided with Carthage and was then conquered by Roman troops under the leadership of Marcus Claudius Marcellus . BC managed to take the fortress. Archimedes , who was involved in the defense, is said to have lost his life in the fighting .

Over the centuries the fort has been rebuilt several times. It was last used by the city of Syracuse as a fortress in the 9th century when it was in vain to defend itself against the Arabs .

construction

Site plan of the fortress

The only level access to Castello Eurialo was possible from the west. The entrance is protected by three moats.

The first trench is 6 m wide and 4.8 m deep. The second trench is 22 m wide and 150 m long. The trenches were supposed to make attacks with war machines impossible. The third trench is 9 m deep and 17 m wide. From the third trench go tunnels and trenches that extend over 480 m.

Behind the second trench is the building of the Vorwerk . The fortress begins directly after the third moat. The front part was torn down in ancient times. Instead, five towers each 15 m high and connected by walls were built.

Today two parts of the fortress are still visible. In the trapezoidal part there are three cisterns for the water supply during a siege.

gallery

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  Castello Eurialo, pre-fortress

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  Second trench

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  Third trench

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  Pentapylon (platform for catapults )

literature

• Luigi Mauceri: Il Castello Eurialo nella storia e nell'arte . Reprint of the second edition (Rome 1939). Catania: Ed. Dafni, 1981
• Brigit Carnabuci: Sicily. Greek temples, Roman villas, Norman cathedrals and baroque cities in the center of the Mediterranean (=  DuMont art travel guide ). 6th, updated edition. DuMont Reiseverlag, Ostfildern 2011, ISBN 978-3-7701-4385-6 .

Web links

Commons : Castello Eurialo (Syracuse)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Fort Euryalos / Castello Eurialo , data set in the Arachne database of the German Archaeological Institute

Coordinates: 37 ° 5 ′ 28 ″  N , 15 ° 13 ′ 20 ″  E