Medieval Towers of Euboea: An Approach to construction phases with Radiocarbon Dating and Mortar Analysis

Medieval Towers of Euboea: An Approach to construction phases with Radiocarbon Dating and Mortar Analysis | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Medieval Towers of Euboea: An Approach to construction phases with Radiocarbon Dating and Mortar Analysis ADAMANTIA PANAGOPOULOU, ANNO HEIN, YIANNIS MANIATIS, ANDREW BLACKLER, and 5 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9124055/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Central Greece once contained over 200 medieval towers, approximately two-thirds of which were located on Euboea. Many still dominate the landscape around Chalcis, either within village centers or on isolated hilltops. From the early medieval period onward, the region underwent successive political transitions, from Byzantine authority centered at Thebes to Latin, Catalan, Florentine, and Venetian control after 1204, culminating in the Ottoman conquest of Chalcis in 1470. Within this context of political instability between the late thirteenth and early fifteenth centuries, this pilot study investigates the chronology and construction phases of the Euboean towers. An integrated approach was applied, combining radiocarbon dating of wooden structural elements with the analytical characterization of mortars to assess their chronology and manufacturing technology. Radiocarbon dating indicates that all towers were constructed between 1270 and 1434 cal AD. More precise construction phases were established for three towers through wiggle-matching: Mistros (1283–1323 cal AD), North Mytikas (1330–1374 cal AD), and Skounteri (1391–1414 cal AD). Complementary analyses of mortars, including optical microscopy, portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF), petrography, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM–EDS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD), reveal compositional variability reflecting different preparation techniques and the selective use of local resources. Evidence for two construction phases was identified at Bailelekas and North Mytikas. The integration of high-resolution radiocarbon dating with mineralogical and geochemical analyses provides new insights into the multi-phased construction history of Euboean towers and demonstrates the value of an interdisciplinary approach for the study of medieval fortifications. Medieval Towers Euboea Radiocarbon dating Chronology Construction Phases Mortar Technology Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 13 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 12 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 20 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 02 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 25 Mar, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 25 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 25 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 22 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 14 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9124055","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":611947288,"identity":"ab08fec3-1da8-4e0a-94e4-d066772763f7","order_by":0,"name":"ADAMANTIA 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