At the location of “Solinas”, south of Kallithea in Chalkidiki, near the sea and next to the Athos Palace hotel, few remains of a tower have survived.

Next to it are the ruins of a three-aisled basilica from the 5th–6th century with remarkable floor mosaics, which are protected by a canopy (the tower is located outside it). The basilica appears to have been built on an ancient funerary monument, as indicated by the hunting scenes in the mosaics.

The Solinas area includes a coastal plain with a wetland and, a little further north, the hill “Palaiochora of Solinas”, where parts of an ancient fortification can be seen. An ancient city was located here, probably the “Nea Polis” mentioned by Herodotus. The settlement survived until the Early Byzantine period and was later limited to a small coastal village, which evolved into the Late Byzantine Solinas.

During the Late Byzantine period, Solinas was a coastal settlement and an important Skala with a breakwater and a tower. There are no records for the tower; it probably dates back to the 13th–14th century. Today, the breakwater does not survive (part of it is under the sea), the torrent has been reduced to a small stream and the tower is almost erased. The early Christian basilica must have already been in ruins during the Late Byzantine period.

The existence of the settlement during the late Byzantine period is documented by Athonite documents. The wider area of ​​Kallithea was for centuries a metochi (dependency) of the Monastery of Panteleimon of Mount Athos. However, Solinas and the tower were outside the jurisdiction of the monastery, as is evident from a relevant agreement document of the 14th century.

The settlement of Solinas survived until 1821. During the Destruction of Kassandra, the Ottomans massacred residents of the area, as well as other Christians of Chalkidiki who attempted to escape by sea. Since then, Solinas has been abandoned and deserted.

Structure, Fortification & Buildings

The tower was square, with dimensions of approximately 5.5✖5.5m. Today, very few remains can be seen: only a few layers from its base, at a maximum height of approximately 0.80 m, which are lost in rushes and dense vegetation.

Despite its poor condition, it is clear that it is a tower. Two other sites have been identified very close by, that have been associated with similar structures:

About 200 m to the north, on the opposite bank of the stream, there is an earthen outcrop with a tower-like appearance, which has been considered by some to be the remains of a second tower. However, no structural element has been identified to support this view. Although there have been recorded testimonies from residents (by Papangelos) that there was a tower at the site until 1930s, this version does not seem convincing: in such a case, a pile of stones or the complete disappearance of the remains would be expected, and not the current earthen mound. It is more likely that this is simply a natural formation of the ground.

More interesting is the case of a possible third location inside the basilica, under the canopy. In the central aisle, the base of a building is preserved, which has been interpreted as the foundation of a Byzantine tower. Here, the existence of a tower is more likely, but it cannot be clarified whether it predated the basilica or was constructed later, when the church had already fallen into ruin.

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