RECONSTRUCTING A PRE-ERUPTION MINOAN THERA

One of the most significant volcanic events in history occurred in the Late Bronze Age (LBA) Aegean Sea when a thriving Minoan culture was near-fatally damaged by the eruption of Thera. This cataclysmic event is now considered the largest eruption of the past 10,000 years. Archaeological criteria suggests this island was a major LBA trade and cultural center for both the Minoan and Cycladic cultures. The eruption drastically altered that ancient center and its landscape with regional consequences throughout the Eastern Mediterranean region that persist today, 3600 years afterwards, in science, history, tourism, and perhaps mythology. Geological and archaeological criteria are used to infer a reconstruction of Thera prior to its destruction by: (a) mapping the preserved LBA landscape and its sediments that survived the catastrophic event and are exposed in outcrop today; (b) imaging the buried LBA landscape beneath the Minoan tephra layer using geophysical techniques; (c) inferring an LBA geography from accessory components within the LBA tephra layers; (d) understanding the geological history of this volcanic field through the past 500 ka from volcanological mapping of the Thera archipelago, and geophysical surveys of the caldera and surrounding seafloor; (e) applying historic volcanic-edifice construction rates by effusive volcanism following the Minoan event to construct an LBA edifice built between the ca. 22 ka period separating the Cape Riva and Minoan eruptions; and (f) interpreting depictions of the pre-eruption LBA landscape in wall paintings from the archaeological excavation at Akrotiri. The inferred pre-eruption palaeogeography of Thera is dominated by a large central LBA island within the caldera that had almost filled a pre-existing, water-filled caldera – likely a stunning scenic setting for that ancient culture much as it is today for modern cultures. It speaks to a thriving ancient culture involved in trade and the arts. It presents a dramatic example of the consequences of explosive volcanism to societies that occupy these dangerous terranes - important lessons for the future.