The settlement was destroyed in the Theran eruption sometime in the 16th century BCE[2] and buried in volcanic ash, which preserved the remains of fine frescoes and many objects and artworks.

The earliest evidence for human habitation of Akrotiri can be traced back as early as the fifth millennium BCE when it was a small fishing and farming village.

One factor for Akrotiri's growth may be the trade relations it established with other cultures in the Aegean, as evidenced in fragments of foreign pottery at the site.

Akrotiri's prosperity continued for about another 500 years; paved streets, an extensive drainage system, the production of high-quality pottery and further craft specialization all point to the level of sophistication achieved by the settlement.

[2] The Akrotiri excavation site is of a Cycladic cultural settlement on the Greek island of Santorini, associated with the Minoan civilization due to inscriptions in Linear A, and close similarities in artifact and fresco styles.

Akrotiri was buried by the massive Theran eruption in the middle of the second millennium BCE[5] (during the Late Minoan IA period); as a result, like the Roman ruins of Pompeii after it, it is remarkably well-preserved.

Later, in 1895–1900, the digs by German archeologist Baron Friedrich Hiller von Gaertringen revealed the ruins of ancient Thera on Mesa Vouno, which date from the archaic period, much after the Minoan eruption.

In the early years of the excavation, a great deal of attention was paid towards the organization of proper facilities for the dig, including substantial workshops, laboratories built for storage, repair and treatment and areas for examination of archaeological finds.

[1][13] In October 2018, a small shrine with a marble figurine of a woman was discovered in the "House of the Thrania" which is located near Xeste 3, where a golden goat was found in 1999.

[14] The frescoes in Akrotiri are especially important for the study of Minoan art because they are much better preserved than those that were already known from Knossos and other sites on Crete, which have nearly all survived only in small fragments, usually fallen to the ground.

[9] Specialized techniques were required when it was discovered early on in the excavation process that the site contained numerous well preserved fresco wall paintings.

As well, there were also vessels for preparing and cooking food, for eating and drinking and many other diverse activities, including bathtubs, braziers, oil lamps, bee-hives, flower pots, etc.

Using these negatives as molds, liquid plaster-of-Paris can be poured in and produce casts of parts, or even entire pieces of furniture such as beds, tables, chairs or stools.