Akrotiri
Akrotiri located on the south-western tip of the island at a distance of
15 kilometres from Fira, the area is a real cape with rugged coastline,
which forwards for 3 miles west of the southern part of Santorini
.During the Middle Ages was one of the castles of the island of
Santorini. Akrotiri became world famous thanks to the prehistoric
settlement discovered by the excavations, which began systematically in
1967.
The excavations brought to the light significant findings. The buildings
had two or three floors and several rooms. Some of them were made of
ashlars stone . The remaining buildings were made of mud bricks
reinforced with straw, wood and plaster. The foundation was generally
shallow and often there was an artificial embankment. Under the
foundations of one of the buildings it was found on the foundations a
layer of loose fragments of porous lava , which played the role of
seismic insulation. The floors where made out of wood and reeds, slate
or pebbles. the roof was made from sticks and canes and had also beaten
earth, which acted as insulation and ensure coolness in summer and warm
in winter.
The lower floors were used as warehouses, workshops or mills, while the
upper floors were used to accommodate. In wealthier homes, often, the
walls of the upper floors were decorated with frescoes. The city streets
were paved. The drainage of the buildings were on clay pipes inside the
walls of buildings and resulted in built sewers beneath the cobblestone
streets.
The large number of frescoes found during the excavations are a valuable
source of information about everyday life in Akrotiri, religion and the
nature of the island.
Fresco from Akrotiri
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