Pumice floats; contrary to what some seemed to have claimed, there do not exist cubic kilometers of pumice stone from Thera; the ashfall is generally believed to have been carried SE by the winds.
The Future of the Past:
Archaeology in the 21st Century
by Eberhard Zangger
Austrian archaeologists in their excavations at Auaris on the Nile Delta have actually found a large quantity of pumice stone, which undoubtedly came from Thera. The stratification of the layers in which the pumice stone was found indicates a time around 1500 BC, between the reign-periods of the pharaohs Ahmose and Thutmosis III. [pp 50-51]
The Minoan ash and pumice layers are, by comparison, decidedly thin, and, in addition, they do not by any means cover the whole of the island group. [p 297]
IOW, this supposed huge eruption left its traces far more recently than the 1620s BC. Here are some of Bietak's Minoan finds, from "Minoan Wall-Paintings unearthed at Ancient Avaris":Addenda and Corrections to "The Exodus Chronicles"Recently, in relation to his ongoing excavation at Tell el Daba, which he believes to be the site of ancient Avaris, Manfred Bietak has rescinded his former assertion that the stratum in which Minoan artifacts, decorations and volcanic pumice were discovered belongs to the time of the pharaoh, Ahmose I. Bietak now concludes this stratum can be assigned to the reign of Thutmose III, instead. Bietak also dates the eruption of Thera to ca. 1500 BCE, in light of his new theory, and takes issue with those who place the cataclysmic event to about 130 years earlier. In brief, Bietak now wishes to eliminate any chronological problems connected with his newer theory. Even if he is correct and there was no volcanic blast in the Aegean at the time of King Ahmose, there still remains the unaccountably bad weather and flooding during his reign, as recorded by himself.
by Marianne Luban
And then there is the interesting premise of the Thera volcano devastation while a "Tethmosis" was pharaoh, two disasters having then occurred within a half century--or less.
Minoan art was widely popular during the heyday of that civilization. Here's a formerly prosperous site with a history of occupation stretching from the Middle Kingdom, through the Hyksos / 2nd IP, into the New Kingdom.Gallery 1
Gallery 2
Gallery 3
Helmi, EzbetFormerly called Tell el-Qirqafa. Amsterdam University survey of 1984 noted the presence of a quartzite block in the village, measuring 100 x (75+) x 17cm, pierced by a central square shaft. This site was probably the location of the Djadu of the 12th dynasty, found by Labib Habachi. Now the site is the focus of a major excavation by the Austrian Institute, working under cultivated fields some 800 metres west of their excavations at Tell ed-Daba. Major discoveries include Minoan wall paintings, an Eighteenth Dynasty palace, a Hyksos palace and water-supply system.
Volcanic evidence around 1500 BCE.
Checking out major volcanic activity in the Mediterranean for those centuries turns up a major eruption of Mt. Etna listed as 1500 BC, +- 50 years. I have check out various Mt. Etna sites, but find very little information about this eruption, except it probably left a very large collapsed area like Mt. St. Helens. I think the name was Valle del Bove (sp?). I really wonder why scientists have not paid more attention to this eruption, as the severe decline of the Minoans took place around this time. I have seen an areal photo of a much smaller recent eruption of Mt. Etna with a pronounced plume being blown directly toward north Africa.
Other research I have heard of indicated that Santorini had several earthquakes and was evacuated about 20 years before the big one.
A re-analysis of theAbstract: The paroxysmal eruption of Santorini (ca. 3500 BP), referred to as the Late Bronze Age (LBA) eruption, probably generated multiple tsunami; their occurrence and impacts being cited frequently in scientific papers and articles. This paper examines what is known about any LBA tsunami, noting possible mechanisms of generation and identifying sedimentological traces. Firstly, the eruption sequence is outlined providing the context in which tsunami genesis may have occurred. Secondly, the arguments forwarded for the tsunami and a summary of the evidence is given. Thirdly, results of a new geological investigation for LBA tsunami deposits at 41 coastal sites from Crete and Kos are presented. The data are used to test the hypothesis that the LBA eruption generated an east Mediterranean-wide tsunami. It will be seen that no terrestrial geological evidence is identified. The paper re-examines the original arguments presented for LBA tsunami, challenging them because their founding assumptions are flawed. Together, the new data and the re-analysis of the original tsunami hypothesis indicate that there is insufficient evidence to demonstrate that any significant far-field tsunami propagated throughout the entire east Mediterranean as frequently purported. Some terrestrial evidence exists to suggest localised near-field tsunami inundation. There is good submarine evidence however, to suggest that a tsunami was focused to the W and WSW. The results have important implications for understanding the volcano-related tsunami hazard within the region and elsewhere.
Late Bronze Age eruption and tsunami
of Santorini, Greece, and the
implications for the volcanotsunami hazard
Dale Dominey-Howes
Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research
Volume 130, Issues 1-2,
15 February 2004, Pages 107-132