The Section near the Large Cisterns

If we walk from the main square of the upper town westward along the path above the structure of the portal, we will come to the large cisterns, which are located on the incline of the plateau, at about the height where the western wall of the lower town joins the face of the cliff. The path to the cisterns runs directly along the wall at the southern edge of the plateau, and ends at a section of open terrain bounded on the north by the ruins of a two story house, and on the west by a depression in the surface of the plateau.

The location of this large two story house leads one to believe that it might have been the official building for the Phrourarch, the commandant of the citadel. The building has no rooms appropriate for maintaining a household; rather, the ground floor and the upper story each have only one large room. An exterior stairway leads to the upper story. A small stone stairway in front of the buildung leads to a kind of elevated seat on the wall at the southern edge. This seat is of particular strategic significance, for it provides a view of the entire lower town; of the area in front of the western wall of the lower town, and thus also the approaches to the town; and of the entire course of the southern wall of the upper town. From here quick changes in the military defenses could be rationally planned, and their execution immediately observed. This is the only location where it is possible to observe the entire defensive situation without having to move even one step. This is thus also the ideal spot for taking overview photos of the lower town.

The depression that borders the terrain on the west between the commandant's house and the southern wall was of special importance for the fortress during times of siege, for it provided a small area of arable land. Old descriptions of Monemvasia claim that on this area it was possible to cultivate provisions for fifty to sixty people. According to the chroniclers, this number was sufficient to guard and defend the city against any enemy. This consideration, which only pertained to the defenders of the garrison, and made no provision for the numerous residents of the town, again reminds us of the strategic importance assigned to the rock of Monemvasia and to its citadel.

Two large cisterns border the depression to the north (see plate 35). A small path overgrown with underbrush runs along the edge of the depression to the cisterns, and then continues on to the citadel. To the left of the path stands a square structure with large arched openings in its sides, and with an hemisperical roof. We can't help wondering what its purpose might have been. Could it have been a gazebo where the residents could sit in shade and gaze at the gardens of the depression? Or was it a well house where fountains could be used to cool the air during peacetime when there was no water shortage? We simply don't know.

The large vaulted hall of the lower cistern has doors on its smaller sides, and inlet openings on the uphill side. The collection basin extends behind the cistern. It is a walled, cemented terrain that follows the course of the surface of the plateau. Even today during the hottest part of the summer, the cistern is still filled with water, although the collection basin is decaying and overgrown with plants, the branches of which are clogging the drain openings to the cistern, and are decomposing into humus. The cistern which lies higher up the hill has an enormous foundation to withstand the pressure of the water. Formerly a gallery supported on arches stretched out in front of the cistern. The upper collection basin is smaller than the lower one; it too has suffered the ravages of time.

It is obvious that these cisterns were publicly owned, and provided an emergency water supply during times of war, when the private water provisions were used up. To be sure, there are supposed to have been springs on the plateau that could have provided clear fresh water. Nowadays none of these springs is still running, although in the middle of the nineteenth century one of them is supposed to have still produced a small rill near the Hagia Sophia. Even if there was spring water on the rock, it certainly did not provide a sufficient water supply for the populace. Instead, the inhabitants had to depend upon collection of rainwater in cisterns. It is interesting to note that a shortage of water was never the cause of surrender during a siege. From the time of the victory of the Franks in 1248 up to the liberation from the Turks in 1821, shortage of food supply was always the cause of surrender. We must therefore assume that the provisions for water supply as we see them today were sufficient for the survival of the inhabitants.