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Archaeological site · Akrotiri, Thira, South Aegean

Akrotiri (prehistoric settlement), Santorini

Ακρωτήρι Θήρας

Akrotiri is the excavated Bronze Age town on the southwestern coast of Santorini, near the modern village of the same name, buried by the island's volcanic eruption in the Late Bronze Age.

Why go

Akrotiri is the prehistoric town on the southwestern coast of Thera (Santorini), near the modern village of the same name; this record is the archaeological site, not the village. The Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades says the town was buried by the volcanic eruption of the Late Bronze Age, probably at the end of the 17th century BC, that excavation began in 1967 under Spyridon Marinatos and continues under the auspices of the Athens Archaeological Society, and that the excavated area is visited under a bioclimatic shelter. Hellenic Heritage, the Ministry of Culture's visitor site, says household equipment and wall paintings from the town are displayed in the Museum of Prehistoric Thera in Fira, which is a separate record. Its official ticket store sells timed-entry tickets for Akrotiri and says they are valid for a single entry on the date and time chosen, can be changed up to two hours before the visit and are not refundable.

Base yourself nearby

Island

Santorini

Santorini, known in antiquity as Thera, is an island at the southern end of the Cyclades in Greece; Greece's national tourism organisation also uses the name for the island group of Thera, Thirasia, Aspronisi, Palea Kameni and Nea Kameni, and this destination is the island of Thera itself. XTOUR maps the Bronze Age town at Akrotiri, Ancient Thera, the Museum of Prehistoric Thera in Fira and the medieval castles of Skaros and Oia on the island.

Near Akrotiri (prehistoric settlement), Santorini

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