Eruption of Santorini. Volcanoes of Greece

GREECE
Santorini, 1470 BC e.

The catastrophic eruption of the Santorini volcano in the Aegean Sea occurred in the summer of 1470 BC. e. Experts believe that it was this that caused the 4 main prehistoric events described by Plato and confirmed by the Bible.

These are the following events. The disappearance of Atlantis in one night. The parting of the Red Sea. The thickening night that allowed the children of Israel to leave Egypt. The disappearance of the Minoan culture.

If you believe the theory of the director of the seismological laboratory of the University of Athens, Professor George A. Galanopoulos, all these legendary events are connected by one catastrophic cause - the extraordinary eruption of the Santorini volcano, located in the Aegean Sea, 200 kilometers southeast of Athens and 110 kilometers north of the island of Crete .

Santorini (a corruption of the medieval Italian "Saint Irene" - the patron saint of the volcanic island of Thira) is one of a group of volcanoes in the Aegean Sea that form an arc that borders the former landmass. According to Dr. Galanopoulos' theory, the first underground explosions of Santorini occurred during the Pleistocene era, after which the volcano's dome grew, along with other nearby domes, to 1,615 meters above sea level.

Apparently this build-up occurred without much incident. But in the summer of 1470 BC. Santorini erupted with incredible power, quite sufficient to grind its peak into dust and collapse the slopes of nearby volcanic mountains and thrown into the atmosphere over the islands Mediterranean Sea, especially Crete, and partly Egypt, a monstrous geyser of molten rocks. After a gigantic explosion, an area of ​​200,000 square kilometers was completely covered with volcanic ash. The concentration of gases in the atmosphere was so high that clouds of ash obscured the sun. A darkness fell over Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean Sea, which lasted several days, and possibly weeks.

The caldera (a depression formed by a volcanic explosion) of Santorini was huge - three times larger than the caldera of the Krakatoa volcano. According to Plato and Dr. Galanopoulos, before the eruption, the lost colony of Atlantis was located on the island.

During the explosion of Santorini in 1470 BC. The civilization of the mythical empire of Atlantis was destroyed. Everything that could survive sank to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea.

Legend and reality complement each other here. Firstly, although Santorini initially erupted and was active enough to “grow” to a height of 1615 meters, it then probably ceased activity long enough for a civilization to arise at the top of the volcano. Secondly, the area of ​​the volcano's summit was approximately 80 square kilometers. This is not enough for a large civilization, but it is quite suitable for such as Athens or Sparta. They were the ones used for comparison in those days.

The story of Atlantis, an island empire that sank in one day, is told by Plato in the opening part of Timaeus and in more detail in Critias. The story is attributed to Critias, an Athenian politician close to Socrates. Critias, in turn, heard it as a ten-year-old boy from his 90-year-old grandfather. He also heard it from his father, a friend of Solon, the founder of Athenian democracy.

It seems that Solon was a progressive and free thinker. He relied on "illegal agreements" when it came to personal freedom. For this he was exiled to Egypt for 10 years. There, from the priests of Sais, one of the ancient cities in the Nile Delta, he learned the history of the island empire, which was larger in area than Libya and Western Asia combined and located behind the Pillars of Hercules (Strait of Gibraltar). 9,000 years ago, this empire disappeared under water in one day.

Some historians have two questions. The first is the relatively small area of ​​the Santorini caldera, which supposedly housed a mythical civilization; the second is relative to the figure “9000 years” recorded by Solon. But in 1956, Dr. Galanopoulos, studying the remains of a strong earthquake on the island of Thira, concluded that the number “9000” was a distorted number “900”. It was simply that, along with other misinterpretations of historical records, the decimal was misplaced. As a result, from “900” we got “9000”.

Thus, according to Galanopoulos, the disappearance of Atlantis and the eruption of Santorini coincide in time. “Correcting” further the error in the decimal fraction, the scientist divided the area of ​​Libya and Western Asia by 10 and obtained the area of ​​the Santorini caldera.

This is a most interesting version. But the suggestion that the eruption of Santorini destroyed Atlantis is only one-fourth of the intriguing story. The disappearance of the first real civilization in the Mediterranean, the Minoan culture, which developed on the island of Crete and adjacent islands, also occurred around 1400 BC. At the same time, the Mycenaean civilization appeared in southern Greece, which repeated the Minoan traditions.

It would be logical to assume (as did the Irish scientist C.W. Frost in 1939 in the newspaper article “Critias and Minoan Crete”, as well as the Greek archaeologist S. Marinatos, who conducted excavations of the Minoan culture on Crete) that the Minoan civilization was not destroyed by foreign invaders, but was buried under a layer of pumice during a gigantic natural disaster. Which? Eruptions of Santorini 120 kilometers north of Crete.

Dr. Galanopoulos explored the mine shaft after the 1956 earthquake and discovered the ruins of a stone house, where he found two small pieces of wood and the remains of human teeth; Carbon dating placed the finds at around 1400 BC. The conclusions of Dr. Galanopoulos and Dr. Marinatos are that the giant tsunamis caused by the eruption of Santorini destroyed much of the Minoan civilization. The survivors moved to Greece, where they founded the Mycenaean culture. This conclusion is credible: in the region around Greece, tsunamis occurred quite often, so the theory may be correct. (There are records of huge waves after earthquakes that partially flooded the city of Alexandria in Egypt - 365 - and the southeastern coast of the island of Amorgos, about 65 kilometers southeast of Santorini, in 1956.)

And if this is not enough, the conclusions of these two scientists are supported by the French engineers who built the Suez Canal in the 19th century. To produce the cement that was used in the construction of the canal, volcanic ash was taken from the island of Thira. Under the ash, the remains of a clearly pre-Greek civilization were discovered. But it was impossible to determine her age at that time.

But enough about Atlantis and Minoa. Galanopoulos, inspired by his discoveries, began to think about other consequences of this monstrous eruption.

Developing the tsunami theory, he used it to explain the biblical myth of the “parting of the waters” of the Red Sea, which allowed the children of Israel to escape from the Pharaoh’s pursuing troops. According to Professor Galanopoulos, the fact of the “parting of the water” was caused by the retreat of the sea half an hour (or so) before the tsunami struck. It was at this time that it was possible for a large area of ​​the seabed to be exposed near the coast.

This gains credibility when you consider that the date is 1450 BC. usually referred to by Bible scholars as the date of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt. Noticing this, Professor Galanopoulos also concluded that the darkness that descended, sent by the Lord to force Pharaoh to release the children of Israel, was the same volcanic cloud that plunged the entire this region after a volcanic eruption. The Bible describes it this way: “And the Lord said to Moses: Stretch out your hand to heaven, and there will be darkness in the land of Egypt, tangible darkness. Moses stretched out his hand to heaven, and there was thick darkness throughout all the land of Egypt for three days" (Exodus 10:21-22).

Taking into account the fact that complete darkness lasted 22 hours at a distance of 209 kilometers from the Krakatoa volcano after its eruption in 1883, and 57 hours at a distance of 80 kilometers, it is likely that in 1470 BC. darkness remained over Egypt for at least three days.

Thus, four legends from four sources may well be based on one destructive explosion. One that was completely unusual, perhaps the most significant not only in its reality, but also in its influence on the history of our world, on its legends, civilization, and creeds.

The attitude towards the world of the inhabitants of small islands and people living on mainland, is different. A person from the mainland is much more secure, in every sense. And the islanders live separately, in their own tiny universe, bounded on all sides by the sea. They will not fuss and wring their hands in horror if a week-long storm prevents ships from landing on the island or stubborn winds prevent planes from landing. They’ll just shrug their shoulders - what’s the point in blaming the vagaries of nature.

These people rely only on the one who is looking after them from above, and on themselves. Then, in the tenth place, they will remember the government that exists somewhere very far away. They live slowly, can not leave their island for years and even decades, preserve traditions, cherish fresh water, given by the rains, and look condescendingly at the youth who strive to break free. They say that over time many return. The islands are calling home.

But how do those who live not just on a piece of land, but on a volcano, on the well-known Santorini, feel?
Why do they stay on the island and raise children? Do they live in fear or have they long since given up on their dangerous neighborhood?
I'll tell you what I managed to find out.

Santorini is the general name for a group of islands of volcanic origin located in the Aegean Sea. Their story began with the birth of a volcano. After a period of riots, he “fell asleep”, became like a quite decent island and, over time, attracted the attention of people. The island was named “Strongili” - “round”, which corresponded to its then outlines.

In the 3rd millennium BC, the Minoans settled in the south of the island - representatives of the culture of Crete, progressive and sophisticated people. It is unknown what the name of the city they founded on the island was called in the 2nd millennium BC. Current researchers have agreed to call it the ancient city of Akrotiri, after the name of a modern settlement located nearby. The inhabitants of the ancient city excelled in arts and crafts, knew how to build multi-story houses, and agriculture and maritime trade, had connections with Crete, mainland Hellas, Cyprus, Syria and Egypt. Akrotiri became one of the centers of the Cretan-Minoan civilization.

About one and a half thousand years BC, after an earthquake, the volcano exploded. The disaster was monstrous. Volcanic ash covered vast areas. Scientists claim that the consequences of the eruption were felt even in the territory modern Italy and North Africa. The middle of the island collapsed several hundred meters, forming the so-called “caldera” - a round crater with steep walls. The void was quickly filled with sea waters. Fluctuations in the earth's crust generated a giant tsunami wave. It is believed that its height was from 100 to 200 meters. In less than an hour, the wave hit Crete, destroying the main pride of the Minoans - the ports and fleet, destroying the palaces and destroying part of the population. Crito- Minoan civilization seafarers, travelers, artists were never able to recover from this blow and eventually faded away completely. The scale of the incident gives reason to some researchers to assume that the explosion of the Santorini volcano became the basis of the legend about the death of Atlantis.

From the solid round island, only fragments remained - the modern islands of Thira, Thirassia and tiny Aspro (Aspronisi). The torn remains of the land were covered with a thick layer of volcanic rocks. Ancient city Akrotiri, like Pompeii centuries later, was buried for millennia under tons of dust and ash. Archaeologists subsequently concluded that the inhabitants of the Minoan settlement, which flourished on the island before the disaster, managed to leave the island before the eruption began. They were warned by earthquakes. They managed to hide in safe place or died at sea - it is not known.

But people did not abandon the idea of ​​living on a volcano. Several centuries later, settlers again appeared on the largest, main island. First the Phoenicians. They named the island “Kallisti” - “most beautiful”. Then, in the 9th century BC. e., the Spartans appeared on the island and founded a city - Ancient Thira (Fira). The island also became known as Thira or Fira.

In the 12th century, a group of islands, like main island Thira (Firu) began to be called “Santorini”. The origin of the name is associated with the early Christian Basilica of St. Irene, the remains of which were discovered in the modern town of Perisse. They say that the Franks, who stopped at Tire on their way to Asia, set up camp not far from it. They called the church "Santa Irina", which is where the new name came from. It is still used throughout the world by everyone except local residents. They are closer to the former name - Thira (or Fira).

At various times, the inhabitants of the volcano island were subject to Athens, Rome, the Franks, the Byzantines, the Venetians, and in a later period - the Turks.

Throughout all these centuries, the volcano did not allow people to relax - it regularly erupted, causing earthquakes, tidal waves and giving birth to new islands.

In the 1st century AD e. The island of Palea Kameni arose. Three centuries ago, in the 18th century, another island appeared above the water - Nea Kameni. The inhabitants of the island of Thira observed its formation during 1707 - 1708.

The island was born in torment, as evidenced by the memoirs of the Jesuit Tarillon: “Every day one could observe how huge rocks rose from the sea and the island became wider. Sometimes individual rocks connected with the main part of the island, while others, on the contrary, separated from it and moved away from shores. Within one month, four black islands were formed. A little later, they suddenly united into one...

On August 17, fiery jets began to shoot out from this island, and the sea around it smoked, boiled and foamed. Fire erupted from more than sixty vents. The sea was covered with reddish foam, emitting an unbearable stench.

Every night, immediately after the now familiar roars, tongues of dazzling flames rose from the depths of the sea, accompanied by millions of rising lights. Starting on September 18, the volcanic eruption intensified. Huge rocks erupted from the craters and, colliding with each other in the air, made a terrible roar.

Then, with a deafening noise, they fell onto Santorini and into the sea. Little Kameni ( new island, rising from the sea), repeatedly covered with these huge red-hot stone blocks, sparkled in the night with a bright flame.

On September 21, this small stone island was completely engulfed in fire. One of the craters sank into the water, and huge rocks were thrown out at a distance of three miles, four days of relative calm followed, after which the Lord's punishment again manifested itself with renewed vigor. The repeated emissions were so strong that two people could not hear each other, even if they were nearby. The people took refuge in churches. The Skaros rock shook and all the doors of the houses swung open noisily.

Until February 1708, there was no break in eruptions. On February 10, the volcano exploded. Entire mountains were violently thrown out of the crater. The island trembled, the underground roar took the breath away, the sea boiled.

This hell continued until May 23. The new island continually expanded and rose. The large crater grew even larger as the lava solidified. Then everything calmed down."

This is how a group of five islands was formed, now known under the single name Santorini (Santorini). It includes earlier parts of the ancient round island of Strongili - Thira, Thirasia and Aspro (Aspronisi), as well as islands born in later periods of volcanic activity - Palea Kameni and Nea Kameni.

The twentieth century also did not become cloudless in the history of Santorini. The 1956 earthquake killed 57 people and destroyed most buildings. The islanders could not communicate their trouble to the world due to lack of communication. They spread white sheets and hoped that flying planes would see their distress signal. The signs were noticed and people were helped. Only the nerves of the island's inhabitants could not withstand the severity of the experience - many left it. Several hundred people remained on Santorini, and dilapidated houses were sold for next to nothing.

But as usually happened, life began anew. Now real estate here costs a lot of money, the island is flooded with tourists and the question “isn’t it scary to live on dangerous island? its residents shrug and smile. Like, let's figure it out. They take tourists to the islands of Palea Kameni and Nea Kameni, showing signs of volcanic activity - wisps of smoke in a huge crater. They also build churches - there are hundreds of them in island settlements. It is impossible to live without faith and hope for the best in Santorini.

On the island, I came across a glossy magazine about Santorini. Detailed, beautiful, with lots of articles on where to stay, what to eat and how to have fun. But in it I was attracted by a small note about exactly what gives strength to those people who live on the volcanic islands of Santorini.

Translated into Russian, the explanation looks like this: “The Motherland protects its children throughout the history of the island. It was she who warned them of the danger and gave them the opportunity to leave the island so as not to face the fury of the volcano. Many times the wrath of nature swept away settlements. But like any mother, Rodina knows how to treat her children. How to teach their souls to soar over the vineyards again and enjoy life. The homeland fills its children with the strength to start all over again. This positive energy never leaves her. It is in the water, in the wine and in those few seconds when the sun goes to rest. It allows you to free your heart. For this priceless gift The Motherland does not ask for anything in return. Her beauty and tenderness are enough for everyone. After all, Santorini is the beloved child of the almighty lava. She will tell you something about you that you didn’t suspect before.”

In August 2014, I was lucky enough to visit Greece, dear to my heart, again, this time one of the main goals of the trip was to visit the island of Santorini and its magnificent landscapes - including the Thira volcano. Our tour operator helped us get to the island of Santorini, who offered one-day excursions to the island of Santorini from the city of Heraklion (Heraklion is considered the capital of Crete, its port center). From the hotel we were taken to the port on a small cruise boat. Due to the fact that we took a rather expensive excursion (120 euros per person), our tour. the operator provided us with comfortable seats in the middle of our liner (we were very seasick on the sides). Many tourists traveled on their own, buying the cheapest tickets on deck. During our boat ride, we came across small islands along the way. A few hours later, we began to see wonderful views of the island of Santorini, to which we were sailing, its nature of origin is incredibly different from everything that we are used to seeing. The walls of the rocks are entirely made of hardened lava, like the whole island, its roads, its landscapes, it is amazing how plants make their way through these rocks, vineyards and olive trees grow. Then we were put in an orderly manner sightseeing bus and on the way to the Thira volcano, which is located in the settlement of Fira, they told the story of the origin of the island. Fira is a small tourist town, with narrow streets, along which crowds of tourists wander, from one store to another, smoothly moving towards or away from Vulcan. The crowd of people, the heat, the smell of donkeys, which is the only vehicle on narrow streets - all this was left behind and not so significant as we approached the magnificent views that surround the Thira volcano on all sides. Since the observation deck is located at the top of the island, the landscape is ideal for photography, one problem is that there are so many people who want to take a photo as a souvenir that they are more likely to be captured in the frame than the volcano. You can enjoy the views endlessly, you can also have a snack here - along the entire path leading to the observation deck there are restaurants and cafes on the street, you can enjoy local ice cream based on goat milk (very tasty!), or you can just stroll through the shops that sell a variety of local goods, both handmade and food (local wine, nuts, pastries). Prices for tourists, in fact, are the same as everywhere else. Magnets - 2-4 euros apiece, a liter bottle of water 1 euro, homemade bracelets from 5 euros and above, local wine could be taken for 12 euros and above, but it was worth it (they say that the Pope himself orders local wine in Santorini ). Santorini has all the conditions for tourists, full service, it all depends on the amount of money you have and the desire to visit this unforgettable place, learn the history of the volcano and the entire island, and take stunning photographs as a souvenir. You need to come here, not a single photo will convey everything unforgettable beauty this place.

Santorini is the number one destination in Greece according to Tripadvisor. And indeed it is. The Acropolis of Athens pales in comparison to this extraordinary island.

In fact, Santorini is a group of islands in the Aegean Sea. The group includes the islands of Thira, Thirasia, Palea Kameni, Nea Kameni and Aspro. The population of Thirasia is very small; Palea Kameni, Nea Kameni and Aspro are generally uninhabited, which is why the main island of Thira is simply called by the name of the archipelago.

Volcano Santorini

The main attraction of the island is the Santorini volcano. Arriving in Santorini, it is simply impossible not to visit the volcano - the island is the volcano. The exception is Santorini Peak, but more on that later. The volcano is active. The island shakes regularly. The last serious earthquake here occurred in 1956.

Until 1500 BC the island had a round shape and was called Strongyla. The Santorini volcano, which was located in the center of the island, had a height of 1.5 km. About one and a half thousand years BC an event occurred that decisively changed both history ancient world, and the shape of the island - an eruption with a force of up to 7 points on the eruption scale. As a result of the eruption, the crater of the volcano collapsed and a huge caldera (funnel) was formed, which was immediately filled with the sea. The sea surface area of ​​the caldera reaches about 32 square meters. miles, and the depth is 300-400 m. All that remains of ancient Strongyla is the currently visible crescent with steep cliff more than 300 m of the western part and flat beaches of the eastern part.

This is what Santorini looks like today. In the very center there is an island-crater (Palea Kameni), surrounded by a flooded caldera and individual islands. Source: Wikipedia.

After the volcano's mouth was filled with water, it evaporated and a huge explosion occurred (the effect of a steam boiler), which caused a huge tsunami, presumably 100 to 200 m high, that hit the northern coast of Crete. The consequence of the tsunami was the decline of the Minoan civilization. The disaster was completed by strong earthquakes and volcanic ash thrown over a considerable distance. A tsunami several tens of meters high destroyed everything on the islands Aegean Sea, on Crete, in coastal Greek settlements, northern Egypt, everyone who lived on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, and the development of civilizations was suspended for a thousand years. There is a version that it was this tsunami that destroyed Atlantis.

If you look closely at the satellite image, you can clearly see the mountain on the right. This is the peak of Santorini. It has nothing to do with the volcano and was here before it. It has exactly the same structure and origin as all the other islands of the Cyclades archipelago.

From the side of the island, the caldera is framed by steep slopes. It is on these slopes that the top attractions are located - the cities of Fira and Oia.

Sheer cliffs around the caldera of the Santorini volcano. The dark island in the center is a crater.

Santorini is conventionally a Greek island. This can be seen in the architecture, culture, names and Catholics. The name of the island itself is of Latin origin - Santa Irini (in Greek it would be Agios Irini). Obviously Latin names are also found among settlements- Emporio, Perissa, Messario, etc.

Carter of Santorini volcano. Oia is visible in the background, and even further away is the island of Ios.

I'm very skeptical about crowds of tourists, but this island was built for that. We spent five days on the island and didn’t have time to see everything.

Transport in Santorini

Volcano Santorini

Ruins of a Minoan city on Cape Akrotiri

Akrotiri is the name of excavations at the site of a Bronze Age settlement attributed to the Minoan civilization. The name of the excavations is given by the name of the modern village located on a hill nearby. original name ancient settlement is unknown. It was buried under a layer of ash after a volcanic eruption around 1500 BC, leaving it remarkably well preserved. According to experts, before the city was covered with volcanic ash, a strong earthquake occurred, and therefore residents managed to leave their homes in time.

The Akrotiri Museum is one of the most civilized places in Santorini. It's clean, neat and everything is thought out. The infrastructure is very reminiscent of the pyramids of Guimar in Tenerife. The only thing I didn't like was the paid parking (3 euros). We have never seen any other paid parking in Santorini.

The Akrotiri Excavation Museum is a branch of Tenerife in Santorini.

Shortly before the completion of the excavations in 2005, the roof that covered the entire excavation area collapsed, killing one of the visitors. The excavations were not damaged, but after this the site was closed to the public. In June 2008 it was announced that Akrotiri would be closed to tourists until at least 2010. I don’t know exactly when they opened, but the museum is open.

Red Beach

Red Beach is located very close to Akrotiri. The beach is like a beach, only red. For such a popular and organized beach, the parking and approach are surprisingly poor. Poor aunties have difficulty making their way over stones and other gullies. The parking lot near the beach resembles the average Novgorod courtyard.

Black Beach

Black beach is everywhere in Santorini. A volcano is a volcano. There are beaches with very small pebbles - they are called sandy. They are located in the beach villages of Perissa and Kamari.

Surprisingly, Santorini is developed beach holiday. Beach villages and beaches here are so-so; if you want a beach, go somewhere else (better not to Greece at all).

Santorini Peak

Santorini Peak is the highest point on the island. There is a NATO radar at the peak and the peak itself is closed to visitors. However, almost at the very top, there is observation decks. From the peak the entire archipelago is clearly visible.

The study of deep-sea sediments of the eastern Mediterranean Sea has made it possible to reconstruct the conditions of a grandiose volcanic catastrophe.
In cores taken from the bottom of the Aegean Sea, two layers of volcanic sediments were found, located at levels from 80 to 170 centimeters below the upper limit of bottom sediments. Together with small particles to a height of up to 50 km. Volcanic bombs and pumice of various sizes are flying. This type of volcanic ejecta material is called tephra.
The study of the extracted soil cores made it possible to reliably distinguish the upper and lower tephra, construct maps of the areal distribution of these two volcanic layers and determine their thickness. The configuration of the area where volcanic sediments were found and the nature of the thickness distribution of the two ash layers leave no doubt that this ash was formed as a result of eruptions of the Santorini volcano.
The greatest thickness of the lower ash layer, reaching 22 cm, was found southeast of Santorini. The ash spread up to 400 kilometers north of Santorini and up to 1,000 kilometers west, almost to Sicily. All islands in the Aegean Sea, including Crete, located within a radius of 200 km from Santorini, were covered with a layer of aeolian ash several centimeters thick.

The upper horizon of volcanic sediments (upper tephra) also reaches its greatest thickness near Santorini. 130 km southeast of the volcano, its thickness exceeds two or more meters. The ash that makes up this horizon reached the coasts of Africa, Asia Minor and the Balkan Peninsula to be deposited there in a layer exceeding 1 mm. The maximum distance over which the ash of the upper tephra was transported was no more than 700 km. In its places largest accumulation It was found that the ash layer of the upper tephra consists of three coarse-grained horizons and three fine-grained ones with sharp contacts between them. This indicates that the upper ash layer was formed as a result of three successive eruptions of Santorini, of which the first was the most powerful and ash-rich.

Based on this, it was concluded that Santorini twice took the form of the round island of Strongyli and twice disintegrated. The first time this happened in the late Pleistocene, 25 thousand years ago, when the lower layer of tephra was deposited on the seabed, and the second time, in the Minoan era, approx. 3400 years ago, when the top layer of tephra was deposited.

The further spread of volcanic sediments depends primarily on the direction and speed of high-altitude winds. After analyzing air currents in the eastern Mediterranean, scientists came to the conclusion that the distribution of lower tephra material indicates its transport by high-speed winds, which indicates a volcanic eruption in winter.
The upper tephra was deposited under conditions of lower wind speeds. This is consistent with the meteorological pattern of summer northwestern trade winds with relatively low speeds. The fact that the eruption occurred in the summer, before the harvest, is confirmed by the fact that in the jars found during archaeological excavations on Santorini, there are almost no food supplies left.
The shape of the tephra fallout area allows us to conclude that the cloud, which covered the whole of Crete, some areas of the Peloponnese and Asia Minor, was transported in the southwestern direction. A meter-thick layer of tephra from that time was discovered on the island of Rhodes. A cloud of volcanic gases, vapors and dust should have covered an area much larger than the one where the tephra fell.

The lower layer of tephra dates back to approximately 25 thousand years ago. The date was determined based on the age of microorganism shells found in the soil cores.
The upper ash horizon turned out to be much younger. Although there is a fairly large scatter of figures, it is still certain that the upper tephra was formed less than 5 thousand years ago. The formation of the upper ash horizon was caused by the eruption of Santorini and is dated, quite reliably, by determining the absolute age of a carbon isotope in a piece of wood found under 30 meters of ash. Radiocarbon dating showed that this piece was separated from the tree between 1510 and 1310 BC. e. Around this period of time, a catastrophic volcanic eruption occurred. And then the central part of Strongile again sank into the depths of the sea, forming a lagoon-caldera.

The ash from the Santorini caldera and from the upper layer of bottom sediments of the Eastern Mediterranean are completely identical.

The catastrophic volcanic eruptions that took place on the islands of Indonesia can give an idea of ​​the events that took place 35 centuries ago in the Aegean Sea. In 1812, a new volcano was born on the island of Sumbawa, named Tambora. Over the three years of its activity, it grew to a height of four kilometers, and on April 15, 1815, a terrible explosion occurred, shortening the volcano from 4000 to 2851 meters. Clouds of ash covered the sky over an area with a radius of up to 500 kilometers: there was complete darkness here for three days. At the site of the explosion, a caldera 700 meters deep and six and a half kilometers in diameter was formed.
The eruption of Krakatoa occurred in August 1883 in the Sunda Strait. On August 26, residents of the island of Java, located 160 km from Krakatoa, heard a noise similar to thunder. At 2 p.m. A black cloud about 27 km high rose above Krakatoa. At 5 p.m. The first tsunami occurred. Before noon on August 27, several more tsunamis occurred. The explosions continued throughout the night, but the most powerful of them occurred on August 27. Gases, vapors, debris, sand and dust rose to a height of 80 km and dispersed over an area of ​​over 827,000 km, and the sound of explosions was heard in Australia and off the island of Madagascar off the coast of Africa.
Hot ash and debris covered many hundreds of square kilometers. The wave caused by the explosion traveled around the entire globe. Its speed reached 566 kilometers per hour, and its height was 35 meters.
Explosions occurred throughout the autumn of 1883, and only on February 20 of the following year the last eruption occurred. During the eruptions, at least 18 km of rocks were thrown out, two-thirds of which fell in an area with a radius of 15 km from the explosion site. The sea north of Krakatoa became shallow and unnavigable for large ships. As a result of these explosions, only the southern half of the cone was preserved, and in place of the rest of the island, a depression with a diameter of about 7 km was formed in the ocean.
The crater created by the Santorini explosion is much larger and deeper than the crater created by the Krakatoa explosion. This means that the eruption of Santorini-Strongyle was even more powerful. During it, 70 cubic kilometers of rock were thrown out, that is, three to four times more than during the Krakatoa explosion.

Before the catastrophe that formed the upper tephra, Santorini represented a complex group of volcanic cones fused with each other, located mainly along its periphery. First, the large island of Thira arose with a volcanic cone height of about 1600m. Gradually big Island merged with small islands located to the south.
After the disaster, a collapse caldera appeared, and most of The islands collapsed into the water. It is possible that the interior of the Santorini archipelago, even before the disaster, was partly a lagoon or a flat area formed due to the removal of volcanic products from the volcanic mountain range that framed the island. This point of view is supported by an analysis of volcanic emissions that immediately preceded the disaster. Geological observations indicate that the first manifestations of volcanism did not foreshadow disasters. Geologists divide the pumice emissions accumulated during the eruption into three layers. The lower, “pink” pumice erupted at a lower temperature. During the period of its formation, one or several vents were active in the northern part of the island. The middle group of pumice layers, found in the south and east of Thira, is distinguished by pronounced irregular bedding. This indicates a series of weak to moderate explosive eruptions separated by quiet intervals. The absence of fragments of ancient lavas indicates the activity of former vents. The release of huge masses of gas-rich magma inevitably caused the roof of the underground reservoir to collapse. This process could have begun during the eruptions, but was most pronounced shortly after their end.

The oldest population of Santorini, which appeared here ca. 3000g. BC e., was pre-Greek. The presence of the influence of Minoan Crete was established during excavations on Akrotiri, when from under a 40-meter layer of volcanic ash an entire village of two or three storey houses, decorated with frescoes that resemble the wall paintings of Minoan palaces, was dug up.
During excavations in the harbor of Akrotiri, a city destroyed by an earthquake was discovered. According to scientists, its area was one and a half square kilometers. Nearby, a residential structure, vessels from the Minoan period, fragments of a loom and large cinder blocks were discovered under a layer of ash. The frescoes were discovered under a multi-meter layer of ash. They depicted plants, birds, the landscape of the island before the eruption, gracefully walking antelopes, a bowed palm tree, boys boxing in special gloves, a procession of women with sacred gifts and an ape-like creature painted blue. The city found on Tire is not inferior in size and splendor to Knossos, the center of the island of Crete. The Santorini volcanic massif was surprisingly well adapted for creating an impregnable military fortress there, so it was on Tire that it was most advisable to keep a navy in case of attack by enemies and in order to extend its power to remote territories of the Mediterranean.
Akrotiri turned out to be empty, it was possible to find out that the evacuation of people took place long before the eruption - grass had time to grow on the walls of abandoned houses before they were covered with ash. The explosion of the volcano destroyed the northern part of the city, covered the southern part with a multi-meter layer of ash, and some blocks went under water, to the bottom of the lagoon. Their remains were found at a depth of 20 meters.

F. Fouquet at one time discovered that despite the enormous force of the eruption and the proximity of the caldera, Minoan buildings on the island of Thira were preserved under a layer of tephra in relatively good condition. On this basis, he concluded that the eruption was not preceded by any strong earthquakes, and that it began with a sudden powerful release of ash and pumice that covered the Minoan settlements. Therefore, by the time the island collapsed, part of the settlements around the future caldera had already been buried by a thick layer of tephra.

In 1939, archaeologist Spyridon Marinatos, based on excavations of a Minoan villa at Amnisos on the northern coast of Crete, concluded that the Minoan civilization was destroyed by an eruption on the nearby volcanic island of Santorini. Layers of ash and volcanic pumice were discovered in Amnisos, Marinatos suggested that the walls of the villa collapsed from the impact of a huge tidal wave caused by a volcanic eruption. The fact that Thera erupted during the Bronze Age was beyond doubt: ceramics from the Minoan period had already been discovered in the debris of volcanic origin. In 1967, streets lined with Minoan-era houses were revealed under a thick layer of volcanic ash and tephra. In some houses, beautiful colored frescoes and intact ceramics were discovered. In the late 1980s, it became apparent that the eruption occurred approximately 150 years before the destruction of Knossos and the great Minoan palaces.

According to archaeological data, all Cretan palaces of the Minoan era in the northern and eastern shores The islands were destroyed simultaneously at the end of the 15th century. BC. The coastal settlements of Crete were abandoned suddenly, the population took refuge in impregnable mountain shelters in the center of the island. After this event, some palaces were subsequently reoccupied, but only partially; others were abandoned forever. During excavations of the palaces of Crete, archaeologists discovered pieces of pumice, as well as sintered pieces of other volcanic rocks mixed with sulfur.
Until recently, there was fairly widespread support for the hypothesis that the destruction of all cities and large settlements on Crete was caused by tsunamis, earthquakes and air shock waves generated by the explosion of Santorini. This was one of the main reasons that undermined the power of the state to such an extent that it became an easy prey for its neighbors.
The hypothesis is now being refuted with the same enthusiasm with which it was previously supported. Opponents argue that a single natural disaster could not lead to the disappearance of an entire civilization.

Volcanic emissions cover the island to a height of 30-35 meters. And in some places they reach hundreds of meters. The wind scattered tens of millions of tons of ash and pumice throughout the Aegean Sea and even carried it into North Africa, Asia Minor and Macedonia. Anafi Psara, Kos, Milos, Naxos and other Cyclades islands were covered with a layer of ash more than ten centimeters thick. The same layer of ash fell on Crete, in its central and eastern parts, the most densely populated areas of the island. This is quite enough to seriously damage fruit trees, destroy crops and grass in pastures and, thereby, cause mass deaths of livestock. Under the threat of famine, the surviving population of Crete was forced to leave the fertile valleys of the central and eastern parts of the island and go to the regions of western Crete.
During the eruption of the Laki volcano in Iceland in 1783. volcanic ash that covered the entire country caused mass deaths of herbivores from starvation. A mixture of volcanic gases and ash formed a bluish smog that enveloped Iceland, causing great damage to grain and feed crops and leading to hunger and lack of food. The consequence of all this was the death of half the cows, three quarters of the sheep and horses, and the population of Iceland decreased by a fifth.
During the eruption of Mount Katmai in Alaska in June 1912. pyroclasts that fell in the vicinity of the city of Kodiak, 160 km southeast of the eruption, formed a layer 25 cm thick and completely drowned out small vegetation. All streams and wells here were filled with ash. The livestock had to be taken out, and it was possible to return it only after 2 years, when the pastures were revived.

The explosion on Santorini caused a powerful earthquake. But if at the epicenter the strength of the earthquake exceeded 10 points, in Crete it decreased to 8 points. However, great damage to Crete was caused not only by the tsunami and volcanic ash, but also by the blast wave that came to the island after the earthquake that followed the Strongyle explosion.
During the eruption of Krakatoa, the roar of the explosion was heard over an area equal to 1/13 globe. The air shock waves broke glass in houses as far as 150 km away, and in some cases damaged houses as far away as 800 km from Krakatoa. So, on Cyclades Islands and on Crete, located 100-150 km from Santorini, the blast wave should have caused significant destruction. It is possible that the destructive effect air wave there were even more earthquakes. Disasters also struck neighboring lands. This primarily applies to Egypt.

There was no Minoan eruption last page in the history of Santorini. Vulcan was silent for 1200 years.
In 197 BC. e. A small island formed by lava appeared in the Santorini lagoon. The Roman philosopher and naturalist Seneca, in his work “Questions of Natural Science,” speaking about the forces shaping the face of the planet, included among them “air pressure,” which “can scatter the earth over a large area, erect new mountains, create in the middle of the sea never before seen islands." And Santorin was cited as an example: “Who can doubt that Thera, Therasia and this new island that appeared in the Aegean Sea before our eyes were produced by air?”
In 46 AD e. Another volcanic island was born. In 60 a new eruption merged the islands together. Palia Kameni was the first island to form after the Minoan eruption.
Masudi reported that in 535. A strong earthquake occurred in the Nile Delta, the earth sank, and the sea poured onto the land. At the same time, there was a significant change in the coast of Crete, the surrounding islands and the underwater relief of the Aegean Sea.
In 726, another eruption at the bottom of the lagoon increased the area, and then the volcano subsided. Several explosions scattered volcanic material several kilometers around. The viscous magma that later filled the crater appeared as a black tongue of lava on the northeastern coast of Palea Cameri. The chronicler Theophanes recorded the eruption of 726: “In the summer of this very year, from the depths of the sea between the islands of Thira and Tirassia, heat began to bubble from a fiery furnace. It bubbled for several days, and increased all the time, and soon became a pillar of fire and smoke "became like fire, and from the thickness of this continuous fiery curtain huge pumice stones flew throughout Asia and the island of Lesbos and Abydos and to all parts of Macedonia, which was located beyond the sea."
In 1452 he woke up again, increasing the area. The destruction of Palia Kameni probably happened between 1457 and 1458. The last time this volcano showed its activity was in 1508, completing the formation of the island of Palea Kameni.
Underwater eruptions that lasted three years, from 1570 to 1573, about two and a half kilometers northeast of Palea Kameni gave birth to the island of Mikra Kameni.

September 14, 1650 began powerful eruption an underwater volcano on the northeastern side of the island of Thira. It was accompanied by earthquakes that did not stop day or night.
An unusually strong volcanic process occurred in the center of the ring in 1707, it was not interrupted for five years. In 1707, two volcanic cones appeared, called Aspronisi and Makronesi. Then, within five years, they united and Nea Kameni arose. The eruptions from 1701 to 1711 were very interesting from a geological point of view, because it was one of those rare cases when it was possible to observe a volcano appearing in the sea. On May 21, 1711, three days after the violent eruption, a white island could be seen appearing. It continued to grow, and after a few days, the people of Santorini discovered black lava, pumice, and marine life still living on it. The island grew slowly, reaching a width of 600 meters and a height of 80 meters. On June 5th a fire was seen, after which a new black island appeared in the north. On September 12th, the black island became so large that it merged with the white one. Nea Kameni was 910 meters long in the south, 1650 in the west and 1440 in the east. The height of the island reached 106 meters.
Jesuit Gori observed the eruptions of 1707-1711 from Skaros Castle. "And between this small island and the Great Kammeni, on the 23rd of May 1707, in the middle of the day, the New Island, of which I will now speak, first appeared on the surface of the earth. Be that as it may, the fishermen discovered the island early in the morning, but unable to understand what it was, some took it for a sunken ship, shipwrecked and drifting on the sea.As soon as the fishermen realized that it was a new island, they were afraid and quickly rushed to the shore, spreading rumors throughout the island, which they readily believed, since all the residents knew, and some even saw, what happened in 1650."
1712 “At this time, the White Island, which seemed higher than Lesser Kameneni, and could be seen from the first floor of Skaros Castle, now began to sink and sink so that it was already difficult to see from the second floor.”

Volcanic activity in the lagoon resumed in 1866, when eruptions began in Vulcan Bay on the shores of Nea Kameni. As a result of the eruption of 1866-1870, the area of ​​Nea Kameni almost quadrupled. In 1925-1926 and 1928, a new underwater eruption further increased the area of ​​Nea Kameni; The eruption of 1939-1941 contributed to the growth of the island. In 1945, a volcano created the new island of Daphne. This island grew rapidly and connected Mikra-Kameni and Nea-Kameni. The last eruption on Santorini, which occurred in 1950-1956, once again increased the size of Nea Kameni.
The most powerful (Minoan) eruption of Santorini was not known either in the classical era or in the Middle Ages. Just studying geological structure The islands of Thira, begun at the end of the 19th century, and oceanological research in the Eastern Mediterranean made it possible to establish this enormous geological phenomenon.

The eruptions of Santorini, which occurred in the Middle Ages, were described in detail by the Abbot of Pegu in 1842. He was the first researcher to understand that the space between the islands of Thira, Thirasia and Aspronisi from the Santorini group is a giant caldera submerged by the sea, formed as a result of the collapse of a once-existing single volcanic island.