Description
The puzzle of dating the Minoan eruption– news from Santorini and Egypt
by
Dr. Walter L. Friedrich, University of Aarhus and
Dr. Walter Kutschera, University of Vienna
Two olive trees that were buried alive by the
Minoan eruption of Santorini give us a direct and
precise radiocarbon date of the catastrophic event:
The volcano erupted 1613 ± 13 (calendar years)
BC. The information of an olive branch with 72
growth rings was used for radiocarbon dating using
wiggle matching technique. A second olive tree was
excavated in July 2007, which is not yet analysed.
It was only 9 meters away from the first found. The
olive trees were close to a man made wall from the
Bronze Age, giving us the impression that there formerly
was an olive grove close to a settlement, situated
on a terrace of the caldera rim of that time.
The trees were still in situ standing upright and in
life position when they were covered by the pumice
of the eruption.
Radiocarbon dating from archaeological sites on
Santorini and from surrounding islands, and from
the Tell el-Daba site in the Nile Delta supports the
date from the olive tree. However, archaeological
evidence linked to the Historical Chronology of
Ancient Egypt suggests that the eruption must have
happened after the beginning of the New Kingdom
in Egypt (1530 BC). This finding constitutes a serious
conflict between the methods of Science and
those of the Humanities. Both sides have strong
arguments. We will mainly discuss the science
aspects of the dating, but we will also attempt to
Tephra layers on Santorini. Photo.
Emneord: Minoan eruption of Santorini,
| Period | 1 Dec 2008 |
|---|---|
| Event title | The puzzle of dating the Minoan eruption |
| Event type | Conference |
| Organiser | Det Danske Institut i Athen |
| Location | Athen, GreeceShow on map |
Keywords
- Minoan eruption of Santorini,