Thera's eruption buried Akrotiri in 200 feet of ash—and left a Bronze Age time capsule
Greece has its own Pompeii: Thera buried Akrotiri in ash 17th-16th century BCE
On Santorini, the Thera volcano erupted in the 17th or 16th century B.C.E., burying the seafaring settlement of Akrotiri under some 200 feet of ash and pumice. Unlike Pompeii, no human remains have been found—residents fled in time. Excavations since 1967 have revealed multistory buildings, indoor plumbing, and vivid frescoes, yet only about 10 percent of the site has been uncovered.
Everything was absolutely annihilated and completely encapsulated on the island.
- zetazzed
The museum of prehistoric Thera is also worth a visit if you make it there! It is fairly small but contains some incredibly well-preserved artifacts. The frescoes are stunning.
I found Fira (nearby "large" town on Santorini, very close to the sites) miserably crowded, but seeing Thera was very cool. This is all about 1500 years older than Pompeii, so a very different experience IMO.
- cmckn
A friend and I stayed on Santorini and our rental had this framed print of a guy holding some fish. We were surprised and delighted when we saw the original in the Thera museum, a life-sized fresco perfectly preserved. Akrotiri is an amazing thing to see.
- linuxftw
A bunch more photos if you click the wikimedia link in the article: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Xeste_3_of_archa...