These gray stones spin a tale of an elaborate urban center
 from 3,700 years ago, preserved under volcanic ash.
  Found in 1860 during the construction of the Suez canal,
 only 3% has been excavated so far.  The inhabitants
 seemed to have had warning that the volcano would erupt, maybe
 by strong preceding earthquakes. No human remains
 or precious possessions were found.  These people
 probably tried to escape to the sea and met their fate in a tsunami.
  Scholars think Plato may have been describing
 this area when he spoke of the lost city of Atlantis.
Archeologists delicately taking rubbings
 off the walls for study purposes.

Multi-storey buildings and drainage systems were
very advanced for that time period. 
Painstaking puzzle solving is done first with
paper models, then with the real pieces of
stone or clay.
People were shorter then!  Look at the height of
the doorway.  What used to be wooden timbers
have been replaced by a concrete doorframe.
Vessels were decorated to describe their contents.
From the top: wheat, olive oil, and wine.  Based on
samples inside the containers, it’s believed that
the people in this area traded with countries as
far away as Egypt!

“Boxing Boys” is one of a few well
preserved wall frescoes found on site.
Young boys then shaved the sides
of their heads and grew long ponytails.
When the volcano hit, it was stronger than Vesuvius.
The intensity of the blast shattered walls and household
 goods.  The entire island was covered with up to  22 feet of ash.
Can you imagine sifting through the world’s largest
jigsaw puzzle to find a jug, a wall painting or
a worker’s tool – all mixed up together?

A relatively intact kitchen area
with pots for cooking, water and
even drinking cups.