Akrotiri

is a Cycladic Bronze Age settlement site on the volcanic Greek island of Santorini

on the volcanic Greek island of Santorini

Akrotiri is a Bronze Age settlement on the Greek island of Santorini, ancient Thera, inhabited from around 4500 BC until it was buried by the Theran volcanic eruption of the 16th century BC. Because the town had already been evacuated before the eruption and was then sealed beneath volcanic ash, in a manner often compared to Pompeii, its buildings survive to more than one story, complete with paved streets, a sophisticated drainage system, pottery workshops, and richly painted frescoes. The ash even preserved the voids left by decayed wooden furniture, letting archaeologists cast plaster replicas and reconstruct details of daily Cycladic and Minoan-influenced life at the site with unusual precision.