The strangely advanced Minoan civilization

These are some of the things I would like to research about ancient Crete

I learned some of these on my 2016 Crete trip and some from my own research

See Minoan Crete Exploration Research news items below

There have been some interesting discoveries in recent years

"Were ancient Minoans centuries ahead of their time? Unprecedented mathematical knowledge found in Bronze Age wall paintings.". - Nature - February 28, 2006

The Minoans were the first civilization to use underground clay pipes for sanitation and water supply - History Whiz

The Romans would develop these sophisticated comforts - but not for 1500 years.

The Antikythera Mechanism was retrieved from a shipwreck in 1901 by sponge divers off Antikythera Island which is only 22 miles from the northwest corner of Crete. I could see Antikythera from there. It's one of the most amazing artifacts ever found. Researchers have been piecing together the details on who created this clockwork mechanism with 37 gear wheels that was used for calculating astronomical events over 2,000 years ago in 205 BC. A Cretan researcher has identified a Minoan object discovered at Paleokastro, Crete as possibly being a cast for building a similar astronomical mechanism nearly a millennium and a half before the Antikythera Mechanism.

"Researcher cites ancient Minoan-era computer" - Archaeology News Network - April 7, 2011 

"Minoan Shipyard Found On Crete" - Greek Reporter.com - March 5, 2013

"Scientists: Santorini Tsunami of 1650 BC Caused by Pyroclastic Flows, Not Caldera Collapse? - Greek Reporter.com - March 17, 2017

This Bronze Age civilization thrived between 3000 and 2000 BC, reaching its peak in the period between 2000 and 1580 BC.

Many of the houses in Akrotiri were major structures, some of them three stories high. It's streets, squares, and walls were preserved in the layers of ejecta, sometimes as tall as 26 feet or 8 meters indicating this was a major town. In many houses stone staircases are still intact, and they contain huge ceramic storage jars, mills, and pottery. Noted archaeological remains found in Akrotiri are wall paintings or frescoes, which have kept their original colour well, as they were preserved under many feet of volcanic ash. The town also had a highly developed drainage system and, judging from the fine artwork, its citizens were clearly sophisticated and relatively wealthy people.

Pipes with running water and water closets found at Akrotiri are the oldest such utilities discovered. The pipes run in twin systems, indicating that Therans used both hot and cold water supplies; the origin of the hot water probably was geothermic, given the volcano's proximity. The dual pipe system, the advanced architecture, and the apparent layout of the Akrotiri find resemble Plato's description of the legendary lost city of Atlantis, further indicating the Minoans as the culture which primarily inspired the Atlantis legend.

The volcanic eruption that destroyed Akrotiri ejected up to four times as much as the well-recorded eruption by Krakatoa in 1883.

The fact that Gavdos is the last remaining piece of what appears to be a submerged part of Crete is interesting in light of the Ogygia-Atlantis legend.

Note also the interesting patterns on the sea floor between Crete and Gavdos island. Probably just some kind of sea floor scanning artifacts but I haven't researched it. I "discovered" them recently.

The fact that Gavdos is the last remaining piece of what appears to be a submerged part of Crete is interesting in light of the Ogygia-Atlantis legend.

Note also the interesting patterns on the sea floor between Crete and Gavdos island. Probably just some kind of sea floor scanning artifacts but I haven't researched it. I "discovered" them recently.

The Minoan civilization collapsed but they influenced the Mycenaens and the later Greeks

The African plate's continual movement north is wreaking havoc on Greece in slow motion. The same tectonic forces that power Italy's volcanoes are also at work in Greece but not as famous. There have been some epic earthquakes of truly shocking proportion on Crete. They've caused devastating tsunamis. I was aware of this potential when I was there but nothing happened. The really big ones seem to strike several thousand years apart but scientists are still investigating and they may be more common.

Few people are aware there is also a chain of volcanic islands in Greece called the Volcanic Arc. Santorini is the only famous one but there are others. Santorini's major eruption during Minoan times is still being investigated as to what actually happened and what effects it had. There definitely was a tsunami that struck Crete and Dia island at that time. It apparently did not end the Minoan civilization but it seems to have been a factor in weakening them. The Mycenaean Greek conquest of Crete that came not too long after the tsunami was the main reason the Minoan's lost their grip on the island and were assimilated. Surprisingly the Myceneans were greatly influenced by the sophisticated civilization they had conquered. They couldn't help but admire the Minoans and copied a number of things from them including their appearance. This led to the Bronze Age Mycenaean Greek's becoming a more sophisticaed civilization, too. They in turn influenced the classical era Greeks that followed.

Click on the graphic link

This offer available only in pre-classic era Greece. There is no direct service to other millennia at this time.