|
Akrotiri Archaeological Site |
 |
Excavations starting in 1967 at the site called Akrotiri ("Upper Thira") under the late Professor Spyridon Marinatos have made Thera the best-known "Minoan" site outside of Crete, the homeland of the culture. The island was not called Thera at the time. Only the southern tip of a large town has been uncovered, yet it has revealed complexes of multi-level buildings, streets, and squares with remains of walls standing as high as eight meters, all entombed in the solidified ash of the famous eruption of Thera. The site was not a palace-complex such as are found in Crete, but its excellent masonry and fine wall-paintings show that this was certainly no conglomeration of merchants' warehousing either. A loom-workshop suggests organized textile weaving for export. This Bronze Age civilization thrived between 3000 to 2000 BC, and reached its peak in the period 2000 to 1580 BC.
|
The second important period in the history of Santorini is linked with the city of Ancient Thira. The excavations there, which began in 1896 by Baron Hiller von Gaertrinken in the area of Mesa Vouno, revealed ruins of a town which bore evidence of settlement as early as the 9th century BC.
The mountain of Prophitis Ilias, Santorini's highest peak, runs eastward into the lower rocky outcropping of Mesa Vouno. these two mountains are joined by a ridge named Sellada. Mesa Vouno, with an altitude of 369 meters, extends from west to south and its steep slopes descend to the shores of Kamari to the north and at Perissa to the south.
This naturally fortified spot was an ideal place for the Spartan colonists to found their city and they built 2 roads, one to the beach of Kamari, where they had their port, ancient Ia, and the other to Perissa. The strategic location of the town was appreciated later by the Ptolemies.
|
|
|
