The castle of Platamon is a fortress-town of the middle Byzantine period (10th century A.D.). It lies at the south-east foot of mount Olympos, at a strategic position which controls the route leading from Macedonia to Thessaly and South Greece. Excavations conducted in 1995 brought to light the traces of a Hellenistic fortification, dated to the 4th century B.C. This confirms the suggestion that the site of the castle was occupied by the ancient city of Herakleion, "the first city of Macedonia..." after the Tempe valley, according to an ancient literary source dated to 360 B.C. Habitation on the site continued until the 4th century A.D. The Byzantine wall was restored by the Franks after 1204 and again by the Byzantines in the 14th century. At the end of the 14th century the fortress was captured by the Turks and was again rebuilt but its inhabitants continued to be Christians. In the Second World War (1941) it was bombed by the German army.
   The first excavation on the site was conducted in 1973 by Ch. Bakirtzis inside the main gate of the castle and it revealed a series of storerooms. The systematic excavations started in 1989 under the direction of K. Loverdou-Tsigarida and are still in progress.
   Until now, several more monuments have been located:
a. a Byzantine church of the 10th-11th century, with successive architectural phases dated to the 14th, 16th-17th and 19th centuries, respectively. It is surrounded by a cemetery dated to the 14th-17th centuries (1989-1995).
b. houses of the 19th century (1991-92)
c. a small church of the 18th century (1995)
d. a small storeroom of the Hellenistic period, dated to the 2nd century B.C. (1994)
e. part of the Hellenistic fortification wall (1995)
f. a gate in the enceinte of the donjon (acropyrgion) with two architectural phases, dated to the 14th century (1993-1994).
   The donjon (acropyrgion) and the gate, which had been damaged during the bombadrment of the Second World War, were restored in 1968-70 and 1972-73, respectively. In the years 1990-1993, the foundations of the north and east walls, the walls of the acropolis and the masonry of the north fortification wall were restored, while the south side was consolidated in 1995.

   The most important monuments of the site are:

The main gate of the castle. The only entrance to the fortress is double and protected by two towers. It seems that it underwent several phases of restoration and repair, through the centuries.

Church A. In the first architectural phase (10th-11th century), the church was single-aisled, later a narthex was added and in the 14th century it became three-aisled. During the Turkish occupation it was rebuilt as a single-roomed structure, with a side chapel and a wide narthex.

Small, simple church with one aisle, preserving fragments of wall paintings, dating from the 18th century.

Representation of the gate which was revealed in the enclosure of the donjon (acropyrgion).

Small house of the 18th-19th century, attached to the north wall. In the interior, a cooking vessel and two hearths were found in situ.

Stone font with relief decoration. It was restored from 48 fragments and it was used in the wall masonry of church A. Dated to the 10th-11th century A.D.

Fragment of a sarcophagus. It was found reversed, used as a slab in the paved floor of church A. The relief decoration dates it to the 10th or the 11th century.

Vases found with a burial in the cemetery which extends on the east and south sides of church A. They were placed near the head of the deceased. The jug belongs to the Iznik type and the cup, used as a lid, is the product of a Greek workshop. Dated to the 16th century.