Santorini must see attractions

Santorini Must See’s Akrotiri — The ancient site

During the 1860’s, when pumice was being mined for the re-building of Port Said in connection with the Suez Canal, the diggers kept running into large stone blocks; the volcanic eruption of 1866 brought the French geologist, Fouque, whose digging resulted in finds such as vases, frescoes, and carbonized food. A century later, Spyros Marinatos began his excavations, and, fifteen feet below the surface, his teams hit volcanic ash and then--underground chambers full of the clay pithi…storage jars for wine, oil, and food for a Minoan community that fled impending disaster around 1600 BC.

On the southeast coast of the crescent of Thira, the site of Ancient Thira is spread out in wide terraces over the rocky Mesa Vouno headland. You can walk to it on the old cobbled path from Kamari, passing en route a cave with springs by a church , and a 4th century AD chapel. Sights include remains of the ancient theater, the agora and the island’s oldest church, from the 5th century AD, along with cemeteries,a gymnasium, houses with mosaics, a Temple of Apollo. p>