AKROTIRI SANTORINI ARCHEOLOGY SITE TOUR - SHORE EXCURSION

Story and photos by Barb & Ron Kroll

If Plato's works were correct, the catastrophic blast that sunk 40% of Thera (Santorini's name in classic Greek) submerged the advanced civilization of Atlantis. Was the Minoan town of Akrotiri on the southwest coast of Santorini the legendary Atlantis?

Walkway overlooks excavated Akrotiri buildings

Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll

It was a question that we pondered during our Celestyal Crystal shore excursion to Ancient Akrotiri Village. Our guide Izmini explained that when the 35-kilometer-high column of volcanic material from the eruption collapsed, it deposited 10-to-12 meters of ash on the town.

"No one knew that this prehistoric village existed until archaeologist Spyridon Marinatos started excavating in 1967 near fields where farmers had discovered pieces of clay pottery," she explained.

Pompeii of Greece

We entered a large, roofed structure built between 2006 and 2012 to protect the finds. It encloses dozens of excavated buildings with wooden walkways between them. "Everything you see here is original," said Izmini.

Although Akrotiri was covered by ash like Pompeii, it is 1,600 years older. (Volcanic ash covered Pompeii in AD 79, but it buried Akrotiri sometime between 1699 and 1630 BC.)

Guide Izmini holds image of multi-story Akrotiri home

Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll

"No one died here, so the inhabitants had time to escape," she explained. "They didn't have time to bring their valuables, because archeologists found gold and other treasures left behind."

Multi-level homes

Of the 35 buildings on the 20-hectare Akrotiri archeological site, only four are fully excavated. Izmini pointed out the big, well-cut stones in the public buildings and the small, irregularly shaped rocks used for the construction of private homes.

"The largest building discovered so far is 31 meters long and four-to-five stories high and it is still half buried," she said. It's amazing to see the excavated buildings emerging from the deep layers of ash that surrounded them for 36 centuries.

Photos of fisherman frescoes

Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll

Wall paintings

Archeologists discovered many frescos in Akrotiri. Izmini showed us images of wall paintings of two young fishermen with partially shaved heads carrying strings of fish in both hands.

The Ladies fresco portrayed a woman with elegant Minoan clothing, an elaborate hairstyle, makeup and even nail polish.

A third fresco depicted papyrus flowers. "There are no papyrus plants in Santorini, so the residents of Akrotiri must have had contact with Mesopotamia," said Izmini.

The Spring fresco, which depicts swallows darting over colorful lilies growing on a volcanic landscape, covered three walls. This mural and several other Akrotiri wall paintings and archeological finds are now displayed in the Thera Gallery in the National Archaeology Museum in Athens.

Wooden furniture

Architects were amazed that Akrotiri used wood in its buildings in the second millennium BC for its flexible, anti-seismic properties. Windows and door frames were made from wood, as well as furniture.

At the archeological site, yellow-painted concrete indicates where the wooden frames once existed. "They brought in wood from Crete and mainland Greece," said Izmini.

Plaster casts of beds originally made from wood

Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll

"Because wood decomposes after 3,600 years, it leaves cavities in the hardened ash that archeologists can fill with plaster and use as a mold." One room displayed casts of beds originally made from wood.

What did the people of Akrotiri eat?

Among the more than 50,000 pieces of pottery found in Akrotiri were large clay pots (pithoi) in a storeroom. Several were decorated and as high as humans.

Many of them stored food. According to Izmini, residents ate lentils, fish, seafood, meat, snails, almonds, pomegranates and fava (a cooked, puréed yellow split peas spread or dip that is still popular in Santorini today).

Clay jars in Akrotiri storeroom

Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll

Other jars held olive oil, wine and a beer-like drink made from barley. Akrotiri inhabitants had a barter economy for food and textiles but had no written records of it.

In the workshops, archeologists discovered numerous loom weights which were used for weaving. A fresco in the West House depicted ships that were used for transportation.

Broken staircase in the West House

Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll

West House discoveries

A broken staircase in the West House provided evidence of an earthquake before the eruption. We also viewed a bathtub, two ovens and a stone basin with a drain.

We were amazed that the citizens of Akrotiri used what we thought were "modern" items more than 3,600 years ago. Multiple doors could be opened to make a large room or closed to make separate rooms. A second-floor toilet had clay pipes connected to the public sewer below.

Most of the objects found in Akrotiri are now displayed in the Museum of Prehistoric Thera in Fira and the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.

Drawing of 17th century gold ibex sculpture

Gold ibex sculpture

The most impressive find was in a clay chest with a decomposed wooden box inside, found in 1999. It contained a 10-centimeter-long golden ibex sculpture from the 17th century BC — a gift to the goddess to protect the settlement.

As Izmini showed us an image of the ibex, she noted that 13 more clay chests have been found since then. "Akrotiri will reveal many more treasures in the future."

Present-day Akrotiri village

We asked how archeologists knew the prehistoric village's name. "They didn't," she said. "They named it after the nearby village."

We later visited the current village of Akrotiri, located about a 20-minute drive south of Fira and a short distance north of the prehistoric Akrotiri site. Singing emanated from the blue-domed church as we strolled past whitewashed homes built below a castle that protected the inhabitants in medieval times.

Present-day Akrotiri village

Until 1967, villagers had no idea that they were living next to a highly advanced Bronze Age settlement that could have housed residents from the lost city of Atlantis.