Crete's vanished civilisation Part 2 - Conspiracy theories

Today, a new part of Crete's lost civilisation. I like it very much and I'm sure you will too. Happy reading!

PALACE OF KNOSSOS: 

The Minoan culture probably emerged around 2500 BC and reached its peak around 1600 BC.

Its political, economic and cultural centre was the city of Knossos on the north coast of the island, where the main residence of the Minoan ruler stood. Around the main courtyard were almost 1500 rooms: apartments, reception rooms, baths, storerooms, corridors and a grand staircase. The many beautiful frescoes that have been discovered throughout the palace show that the Minoans were far ahead of their neighbours when it came to art. Knossos was by no means the only important city of the Minoan kingdom. There were other cities and palaces on the island, such as Phaestos, Meila and Hagia Traida.  But this highly developed world inexplicably disappeared about fifteen centuries before the birth of Christ, and even today the reason for this disappearance is pure speculation. 

In 1909, the British professor of ancient history, K. T. Frost, published an article in The Times of London in which he wondered whether the Milenian civilisation was somehow linked to the legend of the lost continent of Atlantis. 

He also wrote that both Crete and Atlantis were island kingdoms and maritime superpowers, and both suddenly disappeared.

COULD IT HAVE BEEN THE FAULT OF THE FIRE?

Thirty years later, the chief director of archaeological research in Greece, Professor Spiridon Marinatos, came up with new insights into the disappearance of the Cretan civilisation. During his excavations, he came across a cavity filled with a chestnut tree. On the basis of this discovery, he hypothesised that Minoan Crete might have been destroyed by volcanic activity. It was well known that a catastrophic volcanic eruption in the 2nd millennium BC had displaced the island of Thira (now Santorini), which lies about 120 km north of Crete.

Marinatos pointed to the huge gas wave triggered by the explosion of the Indonesian volcano Krakataua (1883), and suggested that a similar catastrophe might have struck Crete.

Further excavations on Santorini revealed, among other things, a millionaire settlement near the present town of Akrotiri. Like Roman Pompeii, the Minoan city was covered by volcanic ash. These finds have long supported the hypothesis that the Mycenaean civilisation was the victim of a massive volcanic eruption and subsequent tidal wave. According to Marinatos, this catastrophe occurred in 1550 BC.

However, subsequent work by volcanologists and other experts has pushed this date back to 1628 B.C. At that time, the Minoan culture was at its height and would continue to flourish for at least another hundred years, making it difficult to accept Marinatos' thesis. 

Here is the end of today's conspiracy theory comes the last Part 3 very soon next month. Don't forget to subscribe to the newsletter and keep up to date. And gmail confirms it! See you again soon!