Akrotiri · The Town Buried in Ash

Akrotiri, at the southern end of Santorini, is a Bronze Age town buried in volcanic ash: three-storey buildings, frescoes, furniture, pottery jars and streets all left in place, sixteen hundred years earlier than Pompeii.

No human remains were found in the streets, which suggests the inhabitants withdrew before the eruption — most of the island was afterwards drowned by the sea in the caldera.

A roof now protects the site. The guide says: the people here knew something was coming and left nothing behind; the things in the houses were meant to be used again when they returned.

Natural Mysteries / Santorini · Greece / 1600 BC