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An intriguing building in the fortified Troupakis-Mourtzinos complex at Kardamyli (Messenian Mani)
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 September 2017
Abstract
The well-known fortified Troupakis-Mourtzinos complex includes a building that has not yet received proper attention. It is a rectangular, vaulted hall measuring 6.22 by 4.04 m., without any special features. However, one may observe a row of quadrilateral holes that pierce the outside of the walls at their mid-height, slightly below the base of the vault. On the basis of this particular detail, the building is identified as a gunpowder storeroom, while its function is examined in the context of the period when it was constructed; finally it is compared to other similar buildings within or outside the confines of Messenia.
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- Copyright © Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies, University of Birmingham, 2017
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1 The overall restoration of the buildings was completed in 2014; it was carried out by the Directorate for the Restoration of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Monuments, under the supervision of Alexandra Frantzi and Aikaterini Kontou and the guidance of Andreas Karkadouris. The respective study was undertaken by Athina Christofidou. I thank them all for their fruitful collaboration.
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9 Kontogiannis, N., ‘Assessing the cities of Messenia in the newly-founded Greek Kingdom: the medieval walled town of Koroni based on early nineteenth-century architectural plans’, Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies 38/2 (2014) 230 CrossRefGoogle Scholar, fig. 14.
10 Kontogiannis and Grigoropoulou, Το κάστρο, 49, fig. 45, Kontogiannis, N. and Aggelopoulou, I., ‘The Venetian city of Modone in SW Peloponnese: the archaeological evidence’, in Proceedings of the International Conference Venezia 2005 – Annales Mediterranea (Koper 2006) 228.Google Scholar However, Koroni's gunpowder storeroom differs considerably. Among other things, it lacks the typical rectangular holes and its interior is supported with pilasters.
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