Incredible new information about the timing of the Thera volcanic eruption has recently been uncovered through scientific analysis. This eruption is one of the largest explosive volcanic eruptions in the last 10,000 years. The study was conducted by Professors Hendrik J. Bruins and Johannes van der Plicht. Since their findings show that this eruption occurred well before Pharaoh Ahmose took power, this finds that long-standing theories of when this eruption in Egyptian history occurred are wrong. This groundbreaking work not only addresses the timing of the eruption but highlights its implications for understanding Egyptian interactions with neighboring cultures.
The cataclysmic Thera eruption, exploding in the Aegean Sea. Its eruption distributed volcanic ash over a large part of the eastern Mediterranean. Scholars have been arguing for decades about the exact moment of the dramatic eruption. Most of them think it happened in the late 17th or 16th century BCE. New radiocarbon dates obtained from various Egyptian artifacts suggest that this event actually occurred during the Second Intermediate Period, contradicting previous assumptions that it coincided with the Egyptian New Kingdom.
Radiocarbon Dating Methodology
Professors Bruins and van der Plicht were granted permission to choose samples from important Egyptian artifacts for radiocarbon dating. Among those samples was a mudbrick from the Ahmose Temple at Abydos. They highlighted a linen burial cloth associated with the deceased Satdjehuty and six wooden stick shabtis uncovered in Thebes. These artifacts served to paint a deep context for establishing a more realistic timeline.
To accurately date these samples, the researchers used state-of-the-art radiocarbon dating techniques. The findings further suggested that the Thera eruption occurred long before Pharaoh Ahmose, by a significant margin. That in itself is a dramatic finding, giving new perspective to a well-studied sequence of the 18th Dynasty. It bolsters a low chronology for both Nebpehtire Ahmose and his son Amenhotep I.
Implications for Egyptian History
The implications of this study go far beyond just dating. They help explain Egypt’s poor execution of relations with its neighbors. The timing of the Thera eruption almost certainly had a formative impact on Egyptian society. It affected their relations towards other, more developed civilizations in the region. The extensive ash fallout could have had significant effects on agriculture and trade in the region, potentially shaping historical events during this period.
Additionally, the results call into question prevailing preconceived notions about how power rose during the New Kingdom. By establishing that Thera erupted before Pharaoh Ahmose’s reign, researchers can better understand the political and social landscape of ancient Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period.
Publication and Continuing Research
Those are the key findings of this study, recently published in PLOS One by Bruins and his co-authors. Their work contributes valuable data to ongoing research on ancient civilizations and their environmental contexts. These new prior radiocarbon dates help to clarify the timeline of Thera. To commemorate this anniversary, they encourage us to explore the ways that natural disasters such as this have influenced our collective past.