Answer: stylites

AnswerCrossword Clue
STYLITESPillar-top dwellers of old
STYLITESSaints who lived on pillars.
STYLITESAscetics who lived atop pillars.
stylitesSTYLITE, an early Christian ascetic
stylitesAn ascetic living on top of a pillar, esp. in ancient or medieval Syria, Turkey, and Greece in the 5th century ad