One of the largest volcanic eruptions in human history

The Minoan eruption of the Santorini volcano, dated to roughly the 16th century BCE, ejected an estimated tens of cubic kilometers of material and ranks among the largest volcanic events of the last several thousand years. The blast devastated the Minoan settlement of Akrotiri and carved out the island's dramatic caldera, which today draws millions of visitors. Some researchers link the eruption to wider Bronze Age disruptions across the eastern Mediterranean.