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The Troubled Island: Minoan Crete Before and After the Santorini Eruption (Aegaeum 17)
The Troubled Island Minoan Crete Before and After the Santorini Eruption - Aegaeum 17 Author:Jan Driessen, Colin MacDonald With a large amount of supporting evidence, this book argues that a sequence of changes in society triggered by the Santorini eruption, caused the collapse of Late Minoan IA/IB culture. The argument itself is not new but the careful study of the processes that took place after the eruption is unique. The authors argue that the natural diaster of... more » Santorini caused major problems in food production and distribution which undermined the status of the ruling elites, leading to a process of decentralisation. The picture they present is that fragmentation of Crete into many small centres led, as in the Hellenistic period, to internal Cretan conflict and a massive wave of fire destructions in Late Minoan IB. The Mycenaean arrival on the island during the `crisis years' of LMIB-II restored order and by LMII a new Knossian elite seems to have taken control. The controversial arguments are backed up with closely-argued detail.« less