Chronology

Santorini Tephra from Rhodes and Kos: Some Chronological Remarks Based on the Stratigraphy

The present paper deals with some problems of the beginnings of the Late Bronze Age Aegean chronology. and is an attempt at a closer dating for the tephra fall, based on the following evidence:

The Eruption of Thera: Date and Implications

A number of recent archaeological and scientific papers have proposed a 'high', 17th century BC date for the eruption of Thera, and hence for the beginning of the Aegean Late Bronze Age.

Pottery Styles and Chronology

I wonder whether I can make some contribution to the question of the proposed high date for the explosion of Thera on a quite unscientific level - in fact a very subjective approach. It consists in judging, from many years of studying Late Minoan pottery, how many generations of potters might be responsible for the vases in each stylistic phase.

The Earliest History of Akrotiri: The Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Phases

After recent thorough investigation of the copious amounts of pottery sherds from the Akrotiri excavation, the indications of human activity at the site since at least the middle of the 3rd millennium BC, or even the very beginning of the Early Cycladic II period, occasionally mentioned by the excavators Marinatos and Doumas and by other scholars, have turned out to be a considerable and indisputable body of evidence proving the continuous occupation of the site not only throughout the Early Bronze Age of the Cyclades but even earlier, from the Aegean Late Neolithic period, that is around the middle of the 5th millennium BC, and thus extending the life of Akrotiri more than a millennium backwards.

Destruction and Construction in the Palace at Knossos: LM IA - B

Evans discovered a substantial amount of evidence from within the Palace at Knossos for a destruction towards the end of Late Minoan IA which he ascribed to an earthquake.

The Chronology of the Last Phases of Occupation at Akrotiri in the Light of the Evidence from the West House Pottery Groups

The pottery of the Volcanic Destruction Level at Akrotiri falls into an identical pattern of wares within each building. The pattern is shown most clearly in the West House pottery, as the building has been completely excavated and the study of the material is well advanced.

Stratified Pumice from Bronze Age Knossos

Archaeological situation: Whatever the size or impact of the 'Minoan' eruption of Thera, the object of historical enquiry must be to relate this event as closely as possible in time to the course of the Minoan civilization centred on Crete.

On the Late Helladic I of Akrotiri, Thera

This paper is a brief comment on the imported LH I style pottery that has come to light at the Late Cycladic I settlement of Akrotiri on Thera.

Archaeological Observations at Akrotiri Relating to the Volcanic Destruction

It is clear from the papers of several collegues that Akrotiri had been in existence for many centuries before its destruction and burial beneath the tick mantle of volcanic ash.

High Chronology or Low Chronology: The Archaeological Evidence

Three independent methodologies - radiocarbon, an analysis of frost - damaged tree rings, and a determination of acidity layers in polar ice - have argued with varying degrees of conviction for a Theran eruption in the second half of the 17th century BC.

Theran Ash in Minoan Crete: New Excavations on Mochlos

During the summer of 1989 excavations were resumed on the island of Mochlos in eastern Crete under the direction of Costis Davaras of the Archaeological Institute of Crete and Jeffrey S. Soles of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Excavations at Pseira: The Evidence for The Theran Eruption

Pseira, on the north-east coast of Crete, has recently yielded new evidence for the correlation between the eruption of Thera and the LM IB destructions on Crete.

Summary of Evidence for the Absolute Chronology of the Early Part of the Aegean Late Bronze Age Derived from Historical Egyptian Sources

Before the evidence of datable cross-links is summarized a possible methodological objection to the use of such links as direct evidence for dating (a procedure common to archaeology world-wide) must be considered.

Overview and Assessment of the Evidence for the Date of the Eruption of Thera

What I propose to do is to survey some of the heterogeneous evidence for the dating of the eruption of Thera and, where possible, give my subjective assessment of the validity of each bit of evidence, both individually and collectively.

Minoan Tephra in Lake Sediments in Western Turkey: Dating the Eruption and Assessing the Atmospheric Dispersal of the Ash

Radiocarbon dating of the Minoan eruption has been complicated by potential contamination of organic material and selection of inappropriate material for radiocarbon age determination.

New Archaeological Evidence for a 17th Century Date of the 'Minoan Eruption' from Israel (Tel Kabri, Western Galilee)

Connections between Thera and the Canaanite culture of Syro-Palestine are well established (Buchholz 1980). As I have argued elsewhere (Niemeier 1986), these connections are to be understood within the Minoan trade network.

Sea-Borne Pumice Deposits of Archaeological Interest on Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean Beaches

Various pumice deposits found on Aegean and eastern Mediterranean beaches are of considerable archaeological interest, because they can be dated to the period of the famous Bronze Age (LM IA) eruption of Thera (Santorini).

Radio-Isotope Analyses of Aegean Tephras: Contribution to the Dating of Santorini Volcano

Beta and Gamma spectroscopy measurements are presented for the first time on volcanic tephras from Santorini and Yali as well as from Minoan settlements in Rhodes and Kos.

Archaeomagnetic Results from Late Minoan Destruction Levels on Crete and the 'Minoan' Tephra on Thera

Minoan palaces, town houses and villas were strongly heated during fire destructions on Crete, generally attributed to LM I times and often to the end of LM IB.

Irish Tree Rings and an Event in 1628 BC

In prehistoric times, oaks growing on the surface of Irish raised bogs were recording rare extreme events.

The Application of Tree-Ring and Ice-Core Studies to the Dating of the Minoan Eruption

Over the past decade a number of authors have suggested that prehistoric climatic disturbances, inferred from frost damage in trees and acidity peaks in Greenland ice cores, relate to the Bronze Age Minoan eruption of Santorini.

The Precision of Ice-Core Dating

A strong volcanic acid signal was found in the ice-core annual layer 1645 BC in the South Greenland deep ice core at Dye 3. The volcanic marking of the ice has been ascribed to the eruption of Thera (Hammer et al. 1987).

Radiocarbon Dates from the Akrotiri Excavations

During the last Santorini Congress 'Thera and the Aegean World' in 1978, geologists and archaeologists disagreed with respect to the date of the catastrophic eruption of the volcano of Thera which destroyed the Minoan village of Akrotiri.

Radiocarbon Dated Plant Remains from the Akrotiri Excavation on Santorini, Greece

A palaeoethnobotanical description of plant remains from some storage vessels from the Akrotiri excavation on Thera and an anatomical description of Tamarix wood is given.

Another Suite of Confusing Radiocarbon Dates for the Destruction of Akrotiri

An extensive series of radiocarbon dates obtained on seeds from the West House in Akrotiri has not provided a definitive age for the last occupation of this site. Seventy separate AMS determinations on forty seeds show the same wide scatter as did the original measurements, and various interpretations are possible.

Radiocarbon Dating by AMS of the Destruction of Akrotiri

Recently there has been much discussion and argument over the absolute dating of the Aegean Late Bronze Age. The controversy centres round whether the 'traditional' time range (c. 1600-1500 BC) for LM IA should be accepted, or whether the period should be assigned to an earlier age range (c. 1700-1610 BC).

A Storm in Egypt during the Reign of Ahmose

In view of the current controversies that surround the question of the absolute date of the Santorini eruption, Aegean specialists may wish to consider some evidence from Egypt that could bear on the question.

Theoretical Radiocarbon Discrepancies

An attempt will be made to reconcile the calibrated radiocarbon dates from Akrotiri with the traditional archaeological chronology of the Aegean Bronze Age, supporting the archaeological date of c. 1550-1500 BC for the LM IA period.

The Stratigraphy of Akrotiri

The stratigraphic evidence shows that Akrotiri was inhabited without a break from the middle of the Early Bronze until its end. In the Late Bronze Age the city was destroyed, probably by earthquakes, and afterwards extensively rebuilt.

Time for Vulcanologists, Time for Archaeologists

I am not quite sure it is very convenient to print and circulate the paper I had prepared for the Thera congress, as now it will take a long time before meeting our Colleagues and discussing the points with them. So I feel it is more appropriate just to list the main questions I intended to put forward, and to let these interrogations find their way into the opinion of scientists.

The Chronology of the LM I Destruction Horizons in Thera and Crete

Recent attempts to separate the Thera eruption from the LM IB destructions in Crete by as much as 50 years encounter two major difficulties: (1) Pottery and frescoes from Akrotiri show some LM IB features; (2) The presence of Theran tephra in buildings in Crete indicates a causal connection with the eruption.

Radiocarbon Dates from the Site of Akrotiri, Thera, 1967-1977

Discrepancies in the radiocarbon dates from Akrotiri are partly due to the small size of many of the samples, but also perhaps to the effects of gaseous emanations from the volcano. Careful study is needed to resolve the questions.

Improbability of a Theran Collapse During the New Kingdom, 1503 - 1447 B.C.

Two generally accepted collateral hypotheses are keys to the chronology of when the island of Thera collapsed into a caldera: 1. That the tsunamis (seismic sea waves) generated struck most of the Eastern Mediterranean littoral and the islands; 2. The area wide destruction wrought was of such a magnitude that the catastrophe resulted in wide devastation both seismic and water borne.

Problems of Interpretation of the Akrotiri Radiocarbon Dates

The recent publication of a new series of radiocarbon dates from the LM IA destruction of Akrotiri, Thera, has focused attention on this time period because of the early nature of the series.