The Prehistory of Greece: c 10,000 - c 1550 BC
DOWNLOAD
FREE
|
Volcanic eruption on Thera c. 1600 BC
Equations are omitted for technical reasons - download the original pdf
Around 1600 BC the island of Thera was subject to a violent volcanic eruption, estimated to be the equivalent of more than thirty hydrogen bombs. The island was fragmented and the remains now form the five small Greek islands known as the Santorini, the largest of which is modern Thera. According to the work of Professor Marinatos prior to the explosion Thera had a thriving Bronze Age culture and was closely linked to Minoan Crete. It is estimated that up to twenty centimetres of ash fell on Crete. However, Marinatos's conclusion that the eruption was responsible for the destruction of Crete is not supported, since evidently Cretan society continued to thrive after it, and the destruction of Knosós is dated c. 1400 BC, some 250 years later. Recent research indicates that up to 60 cubic km of magma was ejected, making it the second largest volcanic eruption in human history (the first being, Sunbawa, Indonesia, 1815 - at 100 cubic km; Krakatoa, 1883 ejected 25 cubic km of molten lava). The area of the Aegean would have been plunged into total darkness during the ash fallout (a region of 300,000 square km.) and the Tsunami would have devastated Aegean ports. Debris from the explosion has been found in Crete and Western Turkey. The seabed surrounding Thera is covered with 80 metres of pumice in a 20 - 30 km radius.
|
Contents of
The Prehistory of Greece: c 10,000 - c 1550 BC
1 The Neolithic Age in Greece
2 The Early Helladic Period
3 Troy I
4 Migrations into Greece c. 2500 BC
5 Minoan Civilisation
6 The Greek migration
7 Megaron
8 Middle Helladic Age
9 The Aegean Bronze Age: The Minoan Civilisation: c. 2000 - 1550 BC
10 The golden age of Minoan Crete
11 Volcanic eruption on Thera c. 1600 BC
12 Crete and Mycenae
13 The amber route
14 The Religion of Minoyan Crete
15 The Linear B Tablets of Knosos
16 Relations between the mainland and Crete
|
