SITE OF THE PREHISTORIC TOWN OF AKROTIRI

Placed under a large protective roof, 200 m from Akrotiri beach, this archaeological site (Προϊστορική Πόλη Ακρωτηρίου/Proïstoriki Poli Akrotiriou) is home to exceptional remains: a city buried almost intact during the great eruption of the Santorini volcano around 1610 BC. Called Akrotiri ("the cape") by archaeologists because of its proximity to the village and cape of the same name, it was discovered by chance in 1867, when the area was being used as a quarry for the construction of the Suez Canal. Since then, Akrotiri has often been compared to Pompeii. Both places were frozen in time by a volcanic eruption, but the Greek site is much smaller: 2 ha have been excavated, compared with 45 ha for the Italian site. Excavations here are hampered by layers of ash, pozzolan and pumice up to 40 m high! But Akrotiri is much older, since the eruption of Santorini occurred some seventeen centuries before that of Vesuvius, in 79 A.D. This is a city of the Cycladic culture (3200-1050 B.C.), a Bronze Age society renowned for its white marble statuettes.

Strong Minoan influence. The site revealed an occupation dating back to 5000 BC. A strong Cretan influence of Minoan civilization in the last period before the eruption was also revealed. This is evidenced by the superb Minoan artefacts and frescoes from Akrotiri on display at the Prehistoric Museum in Thira and the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. The town must have numbered between 2,000 and 9,000 inhabitants, who apparently had time to leave before the eruption. For the time being, only one "quarter" has been cleared, and it is only partially open to visitors. And, apart from an English-language video, information on the site is sketchy. But the tour does allow us to see a dozen or so villas that stood on two or three levels, blocks of cob and stone houses, a cobbled street, a network of sewers, the metal beds of a bedroom and the painted jars of a workshop. The most luxurious dwellings, built of cut stone, were given the name "xestè" (from the ancient Greek xeo, "to polish"). The largest, Xestè 3, had at least two levels with 14 rooms, some decorated with mural frescoes, and piping to supply an upstairs bathroom. Parking, café and store at the entrance.