The Tower of Agios Petros, a building of the Hellenistic period (4th-3rd century BC), is one of the best preserved towers of the Cyclades. It is cylindrical and survives to a height of about 20 m. The diameter of its base is 9.40 m and it is made entirely of local slate. Inside it is preserved a spiral staircase that led to at least five floors.
The tower is built in a particularly privileged position, since it dominates the plain of Gavrio and faces the sea with the ability to control ships. Also around the monument there are metal (copper) mining facilities, which operated until the beginning of the century, while there are indications that similar operations were also carried out in antiquity. Apparently the role of the monument was to control land and sea.
Editor: Fotini Anastasopoulou