• Hellenic Republic • Prefecture of Drama

With regard to the wider area of the Prefecture of Drama the picture arising from the poor historical sources for this period are fragmentary. It does not appear that significant urban centres developed around the city of Drama or throughout the prefecture. The economy remained basically agricultural. The land was divided into large holdings or among the dependencies of monasteries. Serfs cultivated large holdings but there were also so-called free-farmers cultivating the land. Residents of the area based their prosperity on the cultivation and return of the land while income from taxation of land was the main source of revenue for landowner and the state itself.
The little, but nonetheless valuable, information available concerning the early Christian period comes from archaeological finds. There are documented early Christian sites in the fertile valley between Mount Falakro, Mount Menikio and the Lekani range. Most have been found in the lowlands at places such as Kefalari, Prosotsani, Sitagri and Agyroupoli while two sites have been found in mountainous locations at Adriani and Platania.
In the lowlands around Prosotsani at a distance of 2 km from the present day town an early Christian basilica with a semicircular apse to the east and a narthex to the west have been uncovered. A later single-aisled chapel was built in the central aisle of the Basilica. In the Platania valley, between Mount Falakro and the Lekani Mountains approximately 2 km from the present day village of Platania lay the site known as the Kales (Small Castle) of Platania. Inside the castle objects such as pottery and coins from the early Christian period were found.
The Byzantine - Post Byzantine Periods
With regard to the wider area of the Prefecture of Drama the picture arising from the poor historical sources for this period are fragmentary. It does not appear that significant urban centres developed around the city of Drama or throughout the prefecture. The economy remained basically agricultural. The land was divided into large holdings or among the dependencies of monasteries. Serfs cultivated large holdings but there were also so-called free-farmers cultivating the land. Residents of the area based their prosperity on the cultivation and return of the land while income from taxation of land was the main source of revenue for landowner and the state itself.
The little, but nonetheless valuable, information available concerning the early Christian period comes from archaeological finds. There are documented early Christian sites in the fertile valley between Mount Falakro, Mount Menikio and the Lekani range. Most have been found in the lowlands at places such as Kefalari, Prosotsani, Sitagri and Agyroupoli while two sites have been found in mountainous locations at Adriani and Platania.
In the lowlands around Prosotsani at a distance of 2 km from the present day town an early Christian basilica with a semicircular apse to the east and a narthex to the west have been uncovered. A later single-aisled chapel was built in the central aisle of the Basilica. In the Platania valley, between Mount Falakro and the Lekani Mountains approximately 2 km from the present day village of Platania lay the site known as the Kales (Small Castle) of Platania. Inside the castle objects such as pottery and coins from the early Christian period were found.
Marble inscribed door lintel (Archaeological Museum of Drama)
At the fortified acropolis of Adriani the picture is much clearer. Below the modern day chapel of St. John (Ai Yanni) are the remains of the apse and one can make out the layout of the basilica which once existed here and whose architectural members are now built into the walls of the chapels or are to be found scattered around the site which is teaming with the remains of buildings and large amounts of pottery on the surface, most of it dating from the early Christian period.
Only one noteworthy building has survived from Byzantine times and it lies at a distance of 2.5 km west of Prosotsani. The site of the monument is marked by a clump of tall trees in the middle of the valley. Mount Pangeo and the monastery of Ikosifinissa. Above left: view of the Katholikon in the centre of the internal courtyard and right: view of the whole monastic complex.

Mount Pangeo and the monastery of Ikosifinissa. Above left: view of the Katholikon in the centre of the internal courtyard and right: view of the whole monastic complex.

Remarkable monasteries with significant landholdings and treasures, which once seem to have existed in the Prefecture of Drama, have not been located yet by archaeological evidence, though they are claimed to have existed.
Academics have suggested locations for these monasteries while for others the sites are still being sought. Byzantine sources, for example, make reference to the Monastery of the Virgin Koriliotissa and the monastery at Vatopedino. It has been proposed that the hill of Koryvilos, which stands overlooking the city of Drama, is the site of the latter and that the remains there are those of the monastery. However, the most significant monastic centre in the area was the well-known Monastery of Ikosifinissa on Mount Pangeo, which was subject to the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Drama.
It was founded during early Byzantine years but reached its peak some time in the 15th or 16th century while during the period of Ottoman rule the monks there were famed for their active devotion to the national cause.
North of the modern village of Paleohori in the Prefecture of Kavala the remains of an extensive monastic complex have been uncovered. The monastery of Agios Georgios is dated to the 13th century and it remained in existence until the 18th century. Some of the most interesting finds from the dig there are on display in the Museum of Drama. Stone slab from the lower part of the iconostasis from the monastery of Ayios Georgios (Archaeological Museum of Drama).

Stone slab from the lower part of the iconostasis from the monastery of Ayios Georgios (Archaeological Museum of Drama).

In the area immediately surrounding the city of Drama and throughout the whole prefecture there are 33 post Byzantine churches.
Most are to be found in the villages in the foothills of Mount Menikio and in the valley of the Angitis and north of Mount Falakro in the area around Nevrokopi. According to inscriptions on these buildings they were built between 1815 and 1890. Three distinct categories of church can be identified. The first category consists of single-aisled, long basilicas. The second consists of three-aisled, wooden roofed basilicas with different variations while the third consists of inscribed cross-churches with domes. By far the most common type is that of the three-aisled, wooden roofed basilica which prevailed as an architectural style throughout Macedonia under Turkish rule.
The post Byzantine churches of the prefecture of Drama stand out for the simplicity of their morphology and construction, a fact which is due to the lack of resources here as elsewhere in Macedonia. The conch of the Sanctuary is either semi-circular or many-sided and in certain cases is decorated with simple vaulting.

As a rule the roof slopes on two sides with cut-offs on the short sides, a feature that is characteristic of the churches of this time. On the eastern wall there are round lunette windows or rose windows. There is no ceramic decor. On the facades the only decoration are the carefully carved stone frames of the doors and windows.
There are sporadic carved pieces of stone set in the walls. The roofs of the interiors of post Byzantine churches are wooden with colourful decoration, while the iconostasis is wooden, often exceptional works of the woodcarver's art with the remaining wooden carved fittings such as the Bishop's throne, the pulpit, the icon shrines, the lecterns and other ecclesiastical vessels, being of great interest.
The bell towers, except in a few cases, have almost all been built during the last quarter of the 19th century. Either attached to the church or independent they are true works of art. They are made of carved local stone and their form is castellated. They create a feeling of grandeur and majesty. They are nearly always located near the entrance door to the church. Their presence is certain proof of the reforms, which began to be introduced during the later years of Turkish rule and of the general changes in the structure of social and economic life.
It is interesting that all the churches can be dated with accuracy. For some there is even useful information about the artisans and founders of the churches. Between the years 1835-1853 there was intense building activity, a fact that is due, in the main, to the gradual change in position of the Porte (seat of the Ottoman Empire in Constantinople) on the regime governing the Christian population in Macedonia during the last quarter of the 19th century.
In many cases a school was built near the site of the church. These schools, by and large, date from the 1870s.