Thread by @ArysPan

Detail from the "Ship procession" fresco of room 5 of the West House in Thera(Santorini).
Created almost 4,000 years ago, a masterpiece of the Aegean #BronzeAge.

National Archaeological Museum, Athens
#Archaeology

Since its discovery in the 1970s these frescoes have been causing discussion between archaeologists about the sort of the depiction.
Covering the 3 sides of a room is approximately 12m long and 43 cm wide.

Here: a town with visible Minoan influence and the characteristic elements of Akrotiri (in the island of Thera) architecture, such as the flat roofs and multiple storeys.
It could be the island of Santorini, Crete or some other place?

The main part being the procession of ships that are travelling from one port to another. The ships
they are represented in two rows. Effigy
wild beast (lion or reptile)
at the stern probably constituted
the ship's emblem.

⬇️The whole procession travelling btw the 2 towns

Detail of the second port. For many scholars this is actually the depiction of Akrotiri in Santorini while the first could be an exotic destination or Crete.

⬇️People notified of the arrival of the fleet, they come out and gather
on the waterfront to welcome the ships.

A closer look

The Bronze Age town of Akrotiri was destroyed by the volcano of Santorini in around the 16th Century BCE but the volcanic ash helped to preserve the numerous frescoes on the walls.