The violent eruption of the volcano on the island of Santorini created 4 devastating tsunamis

Occurring at the end of the Bronze Age, the eruption of volcano Thera, forming the island of Santorini off the coast of Crete, is recognized as one of the natural disasters most devastating known to mankind.

The island of Santorini is located in the eastern part of the Mediterranean, between Crete and the Turkish coasts. It is thus the entire Mediterranean region that would have been impacted by the violence of the eruption, causing many earthquake, significant ash fallout, but also several tsunamis. Traces of this eruption have been found almost everywhere on the Globe, even in the polar ice, indicating an impact at the global level and in particular a climate change over several decades. Volcanic deposits are so extensive that they are often used in sedimentary studies as a stratigraphic marker. Some scientists even attribute the fall of the Minoan civilization to this catastrophic event.

However, despite the apparent violence of this event, no human victim had ever been found until now, even in the region most strongly impacted by the eruption. To explain this surprising absence, some scientists believe that the warning signs of the explosion pushed the populations of the closest areas to flee. It is also possible that the bodies of the victims have completely disappeared in the loopholes fiery clouds who devastated the area, calcining the bodies and thus leaving no trace of the victims.

Skeletons of a man and a dog found in the wreckage of an old building

The eruption occurred at the end of the Minoan period, which is contemporary with the XVIII^and Egyptian dynasty (XVI^and century BC). At that time, the town of Çeşme-Bağlararası seems to have been an important cultural site on the current Turkish coast. Paleogeographic reconstructions show that the site was located directly by the sea, less than 100 meters from the shore. A critical geographic location in the event of a tsunami.

Archaeological research began on the site in 2009 and revealed a level of ash associated with a very chaotic horizon containing reworked sedimentary debris, with in particular the presence of shells and other marine organisms. Typical signs of deposits associated with a tsunami. The site shows the presence of ancient walls of fortification and buildings. It appears that sedimentary deposits are present outside as well as inside the old buildings. But the great discovery of the site was that of two skeletons. The bones of a dog were thus found at the entrance of a building, buried under the stones of a collapsed wall. A little further on, the skeleton of a young man was identified. Its position and the context show that it is in no way a burial and that his death would be directly linked to the occurrence of a tsunami. The way the stones of the buildings are scattered is an additional argument in favor of a major, particularly violent event.

The researchers also found traces of what appears to be relief operations, just after the disaster. Many holes penetrating the tsunami deposits have indeed been identified. These rescue and body recovery operations could explain the striking absence of other skeletons.

The analyzes made it possible to refine the date of the event, which would have occurred 1,612 years before our era.

Four tsunamis hit the Mediterranean coasts in a very short time

Thanks to all the elements found on the site of Çeşme-Bağlararası, the scientists were able to reconstruct the sequence of events. The results were published in the journal PNAS. The researchers thus propose that the eruption of the Thera volcano caused a series of tsunamis which struck the coast of present-day Turkey, leading in particular to the destruction of the site of Çeşme-Bağlararası. Four distinct events could be identified, interspersed with ash deposits. The first tsunami would have been responsible for thecollapse buildings and the death of the young man and the dog. Both waves next ones would have arrived soon after, certainly within a few hours of each other. The last tsunami would have occurred a few days or even weeks later, after the search phase for victims. These results show that there were several phases eruptive, interspersed with more or less long pauses during which a rain of ash fell on the region. After this disaster, everything indicates that the site was abandoned for at least a century.

It is difficult to estimate the impact of this disaster on the Minoan civilization and to know if it was really the trigger for its downfall. However, one can imagine that the destruction of all the port infrastructures, as well as the boats, could have undermined the dynamics and the economic structure of this society so dependent on the sea.