Santorini - Thera

The Greek Island of Santorini was in the headlines in early 2025 because of a swarm of severe earthquakes. The earthquake swarm prompted an exodus from the island. Santorini, classically Thera, is an island in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 km (120 mi) southeast of Greece's mainland. It is the remnant of a volcanic caldera.

The eruption of Thera was a catastrophic eruption which is thought to have occurred some 3,400 years ago at the height of the Minoan civilization. It was the largest volcanic event on Earth in recorded history. The eruption devastated the island of Thera, and may have led to the collapse of the Minoan civilization on Crete.

Kolumbo is a submerged active volcano. Its most recent eruption in 1650 CE, generated a tsunami causing destruction in the islands of Santorini, Ios, and Sikinos, while the poisonous gas emitted from the eruption killed 70 in Santorini.

Kolumbo’s edifice was created by at least five eruptive cycles, the earliest dating back more than 1M years.

New research into ancient tree rings from half a world away helped settle lingering questions about when Thera erupted. Scientists believe the volcano erupted in the 16th century B.C., about 3,400 years ago, blowing some 24 cubic miles of rock and ash into the atmosphere. The eruption had long lasting and wide ranging effects world wide. Researchers were able to determine colder years in the tree rings of Irish oaks and bristlecone pines in California. Scientists believed that the eruption happened between 1600 and 1525 B.C.

Evidence of a catastrophic tsunami that followed the eruption of Thera was found at Çesme-Bağlararası on Turkey’s Aegean coast, more than 100 miles north-northeast of Santorini.

Researchers found an articulated skeleton of a man (and his dog) believed to have been killed by the tidal wave following the eruption that devastated the Aegean island. Calibrated radiocarbon ages found within the tsunami deposit say the remains date no earlier than 1612 BCE. The eruption left a large caldera surrounded by volcanic ash deposits hundreds of metres deep.

The myth of Atlantis, described by Plato, may be based upon the Santorini eruption. Excavations in 1967 at Akrotiri made Thera the best-known Minoan site outside Crete.

Only the southern tip of a large town was uncovered, yet it revealed complexes of multi-level buildings, streets, and squares with remains of walls standing as high as eight metres, all entombed in the solidified ash. Pipes with running water and water closets found at Akrotiri are the oldest ever discovered.

The advanced architecture, and the layout of Akrotiri resemble Plato's description of the legendary lost city of Atlantis.

Dense patches of crocus flowers on the fresco ‘The Saffron Gatherers’ from Santorini suggest cultivation. Saffron crocuses are effectively clones dating back to saffron’s emergence in ancient times.

In 2015 archaeologists discovered 39 ingots scattered across the sea floor near a 2,600-year-old shipwreck off the coast of Sicily. The ingots were made from orichalcum, a cast metal which ancient Greek philosopher Plato wrote was from the legendary city of Atlantis. X-ray fluorescence analysis indicate the ingots were made from a mixture of zinc (15-20 per cent), charcoal and copper (75-80 per cent) with traces of nickel, lead and iron. Orichalcum is a brass-like alloy, which was made in antiquity through the process of cementation, which was achieved through the reaction of zinc ore, charcoal and copper metal in a crucible.

In Plato's Critias, orichalcum was described as a lustrous metal second only to gold in value. It was used to cover the walls of the inner sanctuary in the Temple of Poseidon in Atlantis. Roman coins were made of orichalcum. Orichalcum was officially valued higher than bronze, but sat just below silver and gold.

Battle of Abrittus

Gaius Messius Quintus Trajanus Decius, known as Trajan Decius or simply Decius was Roman emperor from 249 to 251. Decius is remembered for instituting the first empire-wide persecution of Christians. A distinguished politician during the reign of Philip the Arab, Decius was proclaimed emperor by his troops after putting down a rebellion in Moesia. In 249, he defeated and killed Philip near Verona and was recognized as emperor by the Senate. Aureus was struck at the Rome mint, AD 249-250. EF, lustrous. Est $15k, sold for $30k.

The Battle of Abritus occurred near Abritus (modern Razgrad) in the Roman province of Moesia Inferior in the summer of 251. It was fought between the Romans and a federation of Gothic and Scythian tribesmen under the Gothic king Cniva. The Roman army was soundly defeated, and Roman emperors Decius and Herennius Etruscus, his son, were both killed in battle. It was among the worst defeats suffered by the Roman Empire against the Germanic tribes. Decius' forces initially easily defeated their opponents in the front line, but made the fatal mistake of pursuing their fleeing enemy into the swamp, where they were ambushed by waiting warriors and completely annilated.

The immense slaughter that followed marked one of the most catastrophic defeats in the history of the Roman Empire. Upwards of 10,000 Roman soldiers died. (2 legions)Decius and Herennius died in the midst of the battle, buried under the mud.

The Goths captured Decius' treasury of tons of gold and many weapons which were discovered across Gothic territories. Gallus became emperor upon Decius' death. He negotiated a poor treaty with the Goths under duress, which allowed them to keep their booty and return to their homes.