Evidence suggests that the Minoans disappeared so suddenly because of the massive volcanic eruption in the Santorini Islands. Excavations there have uncovered Akrotiri, a Minoan town which was buried in this eruption, one of the largest in recorded history. The eruption was only 70 miles from Crete, the center of the Minoan civilization. Recent evidence suggests that the Santorini eruption was up to 10 times more powerful than the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883. It caused massive climatic disruption and the blast was heard over 3000 miles away.
We know now that the Santorini eruption and the collapse of the volcanic cone into the sea caused tsunamis which devastated the coasts of Crete and other Minoan coastal towns. Radiocarbon dating shows that a large tsunamis Crete at the same time as the Santorini eruption.
