Ancient vineyards and impressive megalithic wine presses from Hellenistic times were discovered at the "Kambos" site in the Castle of Thassos. The presses are large structures, preserved in extremely good condition, and are rectangular in shape. They date from the Hellenistic period to the late Byzantine years.
Some of them are two-roomed, where in one space the grapes were pressed and in the other, the hypolinium, there was the drainage cavity for the must. Ruins of ancient farmhouses were found near the presses, which shows that in ancient times during the harvest season families migrated to the vineyards to be close to the wine production. So far, 7-8 wine presses have been identified, which are impressive in size, as their height reaches up to one meter.
The black wine of Thassos, famous throughout the Aegean, was produced there. The presence of these well-preserved monuments in the "Kambos" location, at an altitude of approximately 500 meters and at a great distance from the sea, proves the timeless great importance of vineyards for the island's economy. From the data of the research so far, the scientists hypothesize that each farm did not necessarily have its own linos (press), but apparently transferred the production based on agreements to foreign linos, a practice known from more recent times.
Editor: Fotini Anastasopoulou