A Bronze age settlement on the Greek island of Santorini might have been the inspiration for Plato's Atlantis.
Tucked away at the southern tip of Santorini are the ruins of one of the Bronze Age’s most sophisticated settlements, which prospered for centuries before being eradicated by a great volcanic eruption.
It is one of the most important prehistoric settlements of the Aegean. The first habitation at the site dates from the Late Neolithic times (at least the 4th millennium B.C.)
The large extent of the settlement (ca. 20 hectares), the elaborate drainage system, the sophisticated multi-storeyed buildings with the magnificent wall-paintings, furniture and vessels, show its great development and prosperity. The various imported objects found in the buildings indicate the wide network of its external relations. Akrotiri was in contact with Crete but also communicated with the Greek Mainland,
the Dodecanese, Cyprus, Syria and Egypt.
