Minoan Eruption of Thera

The Minoan eruption was a catastrophic explosive eruption of the volcano on the Aegean island of Thera, also called Santorini, dated to around 1600 BC though the exact year remains disputed among archaeologists and volcanologists. Rated a 7 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index, one of the largest such events in human history, it expelled an estimated 28 to 41 cubic kilometers of dense rock equivalent material and buried the Minoan settlement at Akrotiri, along with communities on nearby islands and the coast of Crete struck by subsequent earthquakes and tsunamis. Its ash layer forms a marker horizon found across Eastern Mediterranean archaeological sites, making its precise dating an important, still unresolved question.