{{short description|Ruined buildings on Euboea, Greece}} {{about|the buildings in Greece|the historical building in Germany|Dragon House|the novel|The Dragon House{{!}}''The Dragon House''}} {{expand German|topic=struct| Drachenhäuser |date=September 2016}}
The '''dragon houses''' ({{langx|el|Δρακόσπιτα}}, ''Drakospita'') or '''Draga''' (Δραγκά) are some twenty large, ruined buildings found in the south of the island of Euboea, Greece. They were built with massive stone blocks without mortar and large stone slabs for the roofs. The Dragon House on Mount Ochi (Δρακόσπιτο της Όχης), north of Karystos is the most famous and well preserved. Other notable buildings are located in Palli-Lakka (Πάλλη-Λάκκα Δραγκά) and in Kapsala. In local folklore "dragons" are not only reptilian monsters but also beings with superhuman powers. There is no accepted theory about the identity of the builders nor an agreed estimation on their dating. No mention is identified in classical texts and the first account is from the 18th-century British geologist, traveller and writer John Hawkins<ref>Hawkins J., '' An Account of the Discovery of a very Ancient Temple on Mount Ocha in Euboea '', In: R. Walpole: '' Travels in Various Countries of the East'' London 1820, pp 285-293 ([https://archive.org/details/travelsinvarious00walp online])</ref> The first detailed account, after Hawkins was in 1842 by the German archaeologist H.N. Ulrichs.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Reber|first1=Karl|title=The Dragon Houses of Styra: Topography, Architecture and function|url=http://maajournal.com/Issues/2010/Vol10-3/STYRA_REBER.pdf|website=MAA|accessdate=19 May 2017|archive-date=20 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920003847/http://maajournal.com/Issues/2010/Vol10-3/STYRA_REBER.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The French classical scholar Jules Girard visited Euboea and described the Ochi dragon house, and provided further descriptions of the three Palli-Lakka Dragon houses<ref>Girard J., ''Mémoire sur l'île d'Eubée'' In: ''Archives des missions scientifiques et littéraires'', Paris, 1851, Vol. 2, pp. 708-714, and picture ([http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5734803r/f717.image.r=Jules%20Girard online])</ref>
The Swiss archaeologist Karl Reber has tracked down all reported buildings and published a report in 2010.<ref>Reber K., '' The Dragon Houses of Styra: Topography, Architecture. and Function '', Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry, Vol. 10, 2010, No. 3, pp 53 -61 ([http://www.rhodes.aegean.gr/maa_journal/STYRA_REBER.pdf (pdf)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304074442/http://www.rhodes.aegean.gr/maa_journal/STYRA_REBER.pdf |date=2016-03-04 }})</ref>
==Gallery== <gallery class="center"> File: P1010868_Ochi-Drachenhaus_Blick_vom_nördlichen_Gipfel.jpg|on Ochi (north) File: P1010878 Ochi Drachenhaus.jpg|on Ochi (south) File: P1010843_Ochi-Drachenhaus_Eingangsbereich_von_innen.JPG|on Ochi (inside) File: Drakospita_Palli-Lakka_Ost.JPG|Palli-Lakka (east) File: Drakospita_Palli-Lakka_Nord.jpg|Palli-Lakka (north) File:Drakospita Kapsala Euboea Greece.jpg|Kapsala </gallery>
== References == {{reflist}}
Category:Ruins in Greece Category:Euboea Category:Buildings and structures in Central Greece Category:Megalithic monuments
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