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Cited by 25Earthquake and Tsunami EffectsMaritime and Coastal ArchaeologyMarine and environmental studies

Discovery of a tsunami deposit from the Bronze Age Santorini eruption at Malia (Crete): impact, chronology, extension

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Lespez, Laurent, Lescure, Séverine, Saulnier-Copard, Ségolène, Glais, Arthur, Berger, Jean-François, Lavigne, Franck, Pearson, Charlotte, Virmoux, Clément +2 more·2021·Scientific Reports
DOI 10.1038/s41598-021-94859-1PMC PMC8322394
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Abstract

A geomorphological survey immediately west of the Minoan town of Malia (Crete) shows that a tsunami resulting from the Bronze Age Santorini eruption reached the outskirts of the Palatial center. Sediment cores testify a unique erosional event during the Late Minoan period, followed locally by a high energy sand unit comprising marine fauna. This confirms that a tsunami impacted northern Crete and caused an inundation up to 400 m inland at Malia. We obtained a radiocarbon range of 1744–1544 BCE for the secure pre-tsunami context and an interval 1509–1430 BCE for the post-event layer. Examination of tsunami deposits was used to constrain run-up not exceeding 8 m asl. The results open the field for new research on the Bronze Age Santorini tsunami regarding both impact and consequences for the Minoan civilization.

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  • The evidence for a TAQ comprises (i) dating of earliest attested contexts where Thera eruption products (pumice) are present (likely from craft use) at Tell el-'Ajjul and Tell el-Dab'a; (ii) a date that offers a TAQ for a Thera-associated tsunami at Malia in Crete; or (iii) dating of archaeological contexts representing material culture phases known stratigraphically to be subsequent to the Thera

    “This evidence either comprises (i) dating of the earliest attested contexts where there are Thera eruption products (pumice) present (likely from craft use): Tell el-‘Ajjul in the southern Levant (Fischer Reference Fischer2009) and Tell el-Dab‘a in the Nile Delta (Kutschera et al. Reference Kutschera, Bietak, Wild, Bronk Ramsey, Dee, Golser, Kopetzky, Stadler, Steier, Thanheiser and Weninger2012),”

    From Problems of Dating Spread on Radiocarbon Calibration Curve Plateaus: The 1620–1540 BC Example and the Dating of the Therasia Olive Shrub Samples and Thera Volcanic Eruption (2024) · cites this paper as Lespez et al. 2021

    Split into 3 atoms — 1 confirmed, 2 partially supported, 0 disputed, 0 misattributed, 0 unverifiable. Expand the claim to see per-atom verdicts.

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  • A number of sites offer radiocarbon dating evidence for a TAQ for the Thera eruption.

    “A number of sites offer radiocarbon dating evidence for a TAQ for the Thera eruption.”

    From Problems of Dating Spread on Radiocarbon Calibration Curve Plateaus: The 1620–1540 BC Example and the Dating of the Therasia Olive Shrub Samples and Thera Volcanic Eruption (2024) · cites this paper as Lespez et al. 2021

    The Results section (‘Dating the tsunami event’; page not available in our copy) reports radiocarbon dates from post-tsunami layers at Malia that help bound the end of the event. It also discusses dates from Santorini, Gölhisar Lake and Tell el-Ajjul, but does not establish that a number of those sites each provide a terminus ante quem for the eruption; some dated material is explicitly pre-eruption. (LLM, conf=0.78)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • There is increasing evidence for devastating Thera tsunami impacts in the Aegean.

    “increasing evidence for devastating Thera tsunami impacts in the Aegean [3, 45, 52-54, 56, 73]”

    From Second Intermediate Period date for the Thera (Santorini) eruption and historical implications (2022) · cites this paper as [53]

    The Results (‘Other Bronze Age tsunami candidates and their chronology’; page unavailable) present the Malia deposit as new evidence of a Thera tsunami. But the same section says its impacts at Malia were ‘relatively modest,’ while the Introduction calls tsunami evidence scarce. The paper therefore supports growing evidence for a tsunami, not the characterization of its impacts as devastating across the Aegean. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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Authors
Lespez, L., Lescure, S., Saulnier-Copard, S., Glais, A., Berger, J.-F., Lavigne, F., Pearson, C., Virmoux, C., Müller Celka, S., & Pomadère, M.
Affiliations
  • Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
  • University of Arizona (US)
Corresponding author
Lespez, Laurent
ORCID
Venue
Scientific Reports
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2021-07-29
Volume
11
Issue
1
Pages
15487-15487
ISSN
2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1038/s41598-021-94859-1
PMC
PMC8322394
OpenAlex
W3186684669
Cited by
25
References
54
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 1
FWCI
2.20
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UA Campus Repository (The University of Arizona) (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
  • HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • Paleomex, MISTRALs CNRS Research Program
  • Ecole Française d'Athènes
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Civil and Structural Engineering › Earthquake and Tsunami Effects
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology › Maritime and Coastal Archaeology
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Marine and environmental studies
Keywords
Santorini eruption, Malia, Minoan civilization, tsunami deposits, radiocarbon chronology, tsunami run-up, marine fauna, sediment core, geomorphological survey

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