Origin of post-Minoan caves and volcaniclastic cave fill, Thera (Santorini), Greece

• Published in: Geoarchaeology 2003-06, Vol.18 (5), p.523-539
• Main Authors: Ramage, Joan M., Shaw, George H., Hoffman, Jeff A., Johnston, Sarah A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0883-6353; 1520-6548
• DOI: 10.1002/gea.10078

The Aegean island of Thera (Santorini) was covered by tephra from its cataclysmic Late Bronze Age (ca. 3600 yr B.P.) eruption. Vertical exposures of the eruptive sequence show secondary, nonvolcanic, circular (in cross section) features composed of stratified sediment. Many are inaccessible from the floors of modern quarries and appear to be caves filled with younger sediment, but show no connection to the land surface. A filled cave was found in the wall of a modern gully outside the modern quarries, and a filled cave was found in a terrace scarp, well above the modern gully. Natural (and probably rapid) incision by gullies into the thick tephra deposit left many locations with lateral access to tephra. Inhabitants from post‐Minoan to recent times excavated tephra for materials and buildings, and caves were subsequently filled by sporadic (possibly seasonal) flood events that deposited sediment. These gullies may have provided access for modern tephra removal that isolated the filled caves high on the modern quarry walls. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.