The most significant archaeological site on Santorini, Prehistoric Akrotiri, is highlighted in an exhibition about the island's history and the discoveries connected to it at the Museum of Prehistoric Thera.
Santorini's growth is intrinsically related to the Minoan culture, which emerged between 4000 BC and 1600 BC. The Minoans of Crete engaged in considerable trade discovered the Asian coasts of what is now Turkey in the southern Levant and used numerous outposts dispersed around the Aegean as sort of rest stops on sea routes. This made it possible for many towns and cities, such as the historic Akrotiri on the Greek island of Santorini, to attribute their rapid expansion rate to commercial strength rather than just military might.
The majority of the exhibits at the museum come from the great archaeological digs that took place on the island for about 150 years. They were initiated by the work of the French geologist F. Fouque in 1867 and the German archaeologist Friedrich Hiller von Gaertringen's excavations between 1895 and 1900, the latter of which were primarily focused on the discovery of the Ancient Thera, which was located near the modern-day Kamari on top of Mesa Vouno.
Exhibits and artifacts from several excavation sites are housed in the Museum of Prehistoric Thera on the island of Santorini. The discoveries from Potamos, Megalochori, Thera, and Ftellos are in addition to the already mentioned Akrotiri that we can admire.
The display includes intriguing discoveries that document the island's stormy past. As a result, there will be geological artifacts on display, including preserved insects and plants from the period before the island of Santorini was inhabited by humans, as well as wall sculptures, paintings, jewelry, and everyday goods made of marble and pottery.
The display is broken up into many themed sections. The most interesting part of the exhibits is the thriving Minoan settlement of Akrotiri, which contains, among other things, the internationally renowned frescoes discovered in several buildings on the Akrotiri archeological site, as well as adorned flower pots and ceramics, jewelry, and tools. The exhibits also cover the history of archaeological research, the natural conditions and geological structure of the island, and the late Neolithic to the early Cycladic culture.
Since the ancient city of Akrotiri was covered by volcanic ash following the great outburst of the Santorini volcano in the 17th century BC, the majority of the museum's exhibits are in excellent condition. It turned out that the dust was an excellent preservative.
Interesting fact: Only a modest amount of jewelry and no human remains were discovered at the Akrotiri archaeological site. This most likely indicates that the locals evacuated the island by boat as soon as the volcano erupted, taking their most priceless belongings with them.
Duration RequiredSantorini, Greece
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