Around 1600 BC. C., the Minoan civilization suffered the devastating effects of the eruption of the Santorini volcano in Crete. Currently, new seismic movements suggest that the history could be repeated soon.
Santorini monitoring (Credit: Georgia Institute of Technology)
the minoan eruption
More than three millennia ago, civilization flourished in the Mediterranean. minoanwith its famous palaces of KnossosGurnia, Faistos and Malia erected on the island of Crete.
minoan fresco
The later tradition greek described with admiration the society of his island ancestors, highlighting the figure of minosthe king who conquered the Aegean Sea, its islands and its coasts.
They also add an ancient legend, that of the Minotaurlocked in the labyrinth, from whose monstrous jaws he managed to escape Theseuswith the help of Ariadne.
civilization minoan developed its economy thanks to the impulse of the trade maritime. The archaeological remains of great palaces they give account of an important administrative organization, which grew along with the boom in trade.
Representation of the Palace of Knossos
But at some point between the years 1639 and 1616 a. C., the island was left in ruins, the palaces destroyed, the cities abandoned.
Today it is known that the cause was the eruption of the Santorini volcanoeither Theralocated in an archipelago north of Crete. The explosion caused the sinking of a part of the archipelago and the appearance of a caldera that can be seen today.
Although it cannot be said that the eruption of the Santorini he annihilated the Minoans, it is known that he caused the flight and chaos of the inhabitants of the Aegean.
3D animation of the Santorini caldera (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
This rash was classified in modernity with grade 7, the highest rating on the scale of Volcanic eruptions. It caused a huge cloud of volcanic ash that suffocated the Mediterranean Sea and its darkness could be seen from places as remote as China.
In addition, the explosion together with the seismic movements, caused a great tidal wave with devastating effects for the Aegean islands populated by the Minoans.
Currently
Since then, the volcano Santorini always remained active. Over the centuries new eruptions appeared, but none came close to what was the minoan eruption.
The caldera of Santorini
In the 20th century, 3 important activities of the Santorini: in 1925, in 1939, and in 1950.
Since the beginning of 2011, tremors and seismic movements have been recorded. the surface of the volcano it rose 140 millimeters, which would indicate that magma is rising from the depths and flooding the internal chambers of the volcano.
Fortunately, specialists rule out an explosion like the minoan. The phenomenon is comparable to other calderas that presented the same characteristics (surface upheaval, tremors) and that never entered into rash.
Eruption on Santorini in the 1950s
The French volcanologist Tim Druittof the University of Blaise Pascal in Clermont-Ferrand states that: “Only 10% of the cases of restless calderas end in an eruption.”
In any case, a group of specialists will be closely monitoring the Santorini starting March 27.