A house just enough to hold you; a field extending as far as your eyes can see
SIPHNOS LANDSCAPE
Tracing the landscape
of ancient Siphnos
How a nuclear model of inhabiting the insular countryside evolved in time
When French soldier Jourdain, in 1823, likened the countryside of Siphnos to an amphitheatre whose terraces were full of vineyards, grain and olive trees, he was capturing the image of the labour that_the inhabitants of the islands had put in for centuries to turn the mountainous terrain into arable land, building dry stone walls and transporting soil.
As the distance between the fields and the settlements is often quite long, the countryside of Siphnos_is dotted with themonies: simple stone buildings destined for agricultural activities. They were mainly used as storage spaces yet also for seasonal accommodation, especially the larger ones. Within the farmable land and in the remote pastures, mantria, small stables for the protection of animals, were also created. Their large number, as well as the traditional stone and other utensils found in themonies (e.g., cheese-making trays), indicate the important role that animal husbandry played on the island.
In many cases, the above structures were built in the immediate vicinity of ancient towers, as for example the t’ Argyrou to Petali tower. The latter, along with their annexes, provided the necessary raw material or formed strong foundations for the construction of the newer buildings. In some cases, the towers themselves were used as pens or as lime kilns and their building material was used as fuel to produce lime.
An extensive network of paths was created throughout the countryside for access to the fields, pastures, water sources and numerous chapels. The layout of the paths, which follows the morphology of_the terrain, coincides to a large extent with ancient routes, as indicated by the presence of ancient towers along the way.
