By around 1700 BC, Akrotiri had become an important Aegean center for copper processing and redistribution, positioned on the maritime route between Cyprus and Minoan Crete. Crete also had copper sources and exported copper, while Cyprus was a major producer, so Akrotiri was not the eastern Mediterranean's sole or dominant copper hub. The city was destroyed by the Theran eruption around 1627 BC. ⚒️🫒
Akrotiri was an important Aegean copper-trade center by 1700 BC
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Key facts
- Akrotiri's position between Cyprus and Minoan Crete made it an important point for processing and redistributing copper, but not the established dominant copper hub of the eastern Mediterranean.
- Crete was not without copper: it has been identified as a major source of copper oxhide ingots and an exporter of copper; Cyprus was also a principal copper producer.
- The Theran eruption destroyed Akrotiri around 1627 BC, not around 1500 BC.
- The evidence supports Akrotiri's importance as a regional trade and redistribution center, but not the claim that it dominated Mediterranean trade from about 2600 BC onward.
Sources
Findings from 3,000-year-old Uluburun shipwreck reveal complex ...source.washu.edu
Bronze is primarily made from copper and tin. While copper is fairly common and can be found throughout Eurasia, tin is much rarer and only ...
Cyprus and Ugarit: A Tale of Two Late Bronze Age Mercantile Politiesanetoday.org
Amongst the more prominent and key components of materials exchanged between Cyprus and Ugarit are the pottery, metal items, and seals or seal ...
'Judges'-Period Israel a Hub of Mediterranean Trade, Lead Ingots ...armstronginstitute.org
A shipwreck discovery off Israel's coast reveals an ancient connection with Cyprus and Sardinia.
Cyprus—Island of Copper - The Metropolitan Museum of Artmetmuseum.org
Cyprus was famous in antiquity for its copper resources. In fact the very word copper is derived from the Greek name for the island, Kupros.
Features - In the Time of the Copper Kings - January/February 2024archaeology.org
... Cyprus was the most important producer of copper in the Mediterranean. Cyprus was so synonymous with the metal that the English word “copper” is derived ...
Ingots and the Bronze Age Copper Trade in ...penn.museum
Crete has been called the major source of oxhide ingots and an exporter of copper in the Bronze Age (Merrillees 1974).
excavations, akrotirisantorinichichotel.com
Akrotiri is a Minoan Bronze Age settlement on the volcanic Greek island of Santorini (Thera). The settlement was destroyed in the Theran eruption about 1627 ...
The Bronze Age site of Akrotiri on Santorini in Greecepetersommer.com
Discover the history and archaeology of Akrotiri a Bronze Age city, destroyed by volcano 3600 years ago, on the Greek island of Santorini.
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