Museum of Prehistoric Thera, Santorini (must see)

The Museum of Prehistoric Thera offers a focused introduction to Santorini’s prehistoric past, centered on the Bronze Age settlement of Akrotiri. The first displays you encounter provide broad context, introducing the island’s geology, volcanic landscape, and early settlement history. These sections frame the story of Thera before the catastrophic eruption of the 17th century BCE, setting the stage for the archaeological material that follows.

The exhibition then turns to finds drawn primarily from Akrotiri, with additional material from other sites on the island. Here, the focus shifts to the Late Cycladic I period, the final phase of life at Akrotiri. Pottery vessels, jewelry, and bronze tools illustrate everyday activities and technical skill, while more specialized ceramic forms, such as “bird jugs” decorated with swallow motifs, reflect both function and decoration.

Nearby, plaster casts of wooden furniture, including beds and storage units, offer one of the museum’s most tangible connections to daily life. Created from voids left in the volcanic ash after the original wood decayed, these casts preserve forms that are rarely visible in prehistoric archaeology and give a sense of how interior spaces were organized.

The museum’s highlight is presented on the second floor, where a major permanent exhibition opened in 2021 under the title “Thera Wall Paintings: The Masterpieces of Aegean Prehistory”. The frescoes are arranged according to their original iconographic programs, allowing visitors to see how painted scenes once functioned within specific rooms rather than as isolated images.

Among the most celebrated works are the saffron gatherers, the spring fresco with swallows, and compositions known as the Ladies, Papyri, and Blue Monkeys. Their vivid colors, rhythmic movement, and close observation of the natural world form the visual center of the museum. Smaller fragments surrounding them show how decoration extended throughout the interiors of Akrotiri’s houses.

One of the museum’s most exceptional small finds is the Gold Ibex figurine, discovered in 1999. Cast from solid gold, it is unique within Aegean prehistoric art and offers a glimpse into the wealth, craftsmanship, and symbolic culture of Akrotiri shortly before its burial. Together, the galleries present a coherent journey from geological forces to a fully developed Bronze Age settlement, preserved at a precise moment beneath volcanic ash.