The discovery of Santorini Minoan tephra in western Turkey

Abstract

Dispersal of volcanic ash from the violent Bronze Age (Minoan) eruption of the Santorini volcano in the southern Aegean has been the subject of much research1–6. A sediment core taken from a small mountain lake in western Turkey contains a layer of tephra from the Minoan eruption. The Santorini origin is established by refractive index, major glass chemistry, and stratigraphic position. The lake is located north of the recognized dispersal area for the tephra. This deposit provides evidence for dispersal of the Minoan tephra well to the northeast of Santorini, and implies that the west coast of Asia Minor must have experienced heavy tephra fallout from the Bronze Age eruption. The Minoan tephra has not previously been identified from sites in Turkey.