Mind the step
North house of Building Complex Delta
The North house of Complex Delta is readily recognizable by the cracked steps of the staircase that once took visitors from the antechamber to the first floor. It is perhaps the most powerful reminder of the devastation wrought by the earthquake that struck Akrotiri before the great volcanic eruption. The North house had two storeys and a total area of 317 square meters (3412 square feet). The house is one of those built on top of an earlier burial chamber. It had double doors, whose marks are visible on the first step of the stairs. Among the ruins of the house, the archaeologists discovered a hoard of bronze vessels and a jug incised with the Linear A inscription A-RE-SA-NA. The word brought to the mind of Marinatos the mythical figure of Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos of Crete, but this seems rather farfetched. It might be the name of the owner or the potter or a place name.
As seen on
Akrotiri: The Pompeii of the Aegean
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