Santorini Archeology

Santorini Archeology the Excavations on Thira

The French archaeologist, Ferdinand Fouque, carried out excavations in 1867, both on the islet of Thirasia and in Akrotiri, and found some pottery and remains of buildings. These finds led him to believe that a major civilization had existed on Thira during the period of the massive volcanic eruption that was believed at that time to have occurred around 1450 BC, but was later dated farther back.

During the 1890’s a German archaeolgist, Baron Hiller von Gartingen, also carried out excavations on Thira of the remains of the ancient city (also called Thira). About seven decades passed before the first excavations undertaken by Greek archaeologist, Spyros Marinatos, and the subsequent unearthing of the Minoan city of Akrotiri with its frescoes, pithi (large clay storage jars), and two-storey houses.

It appeared that the occupants of the city had had forewarning of the catastrophe, as only one skeleton was found there—that of a pig. Rather eerily, Marinatos died while excavating Akrotiri, when a wall collapsed. He is buried on the site, as he had requested.