Museum of Prehistoric Thera

36°25′07″N 25°26′13″E / 36.4185°N 25.4370°E / 36.4185; 25.4370

The Museum of Prehistoric Thera (Greek: Μουσείο Προϊστορικής Θήρας) is located in Fira, on the island of Santorini in Greece. It was built on the site of the old Ypapanti Church which was destroyed in the 1956 Amorgos earthquake.

The Museum houses a very large number of ancient artifacts from various excavations on Santorini, such as at Akrotiri (southwest part of the island, located on a peninsula), and at the nearby Potamos site.

The earliest excavations on Santorini were conducted by French geologist F. Fouque in 1867, after some local people found old artifacts at a quarry. Later, in 1895-1900, the digs by German archeologist Baron Friedrich Hiller von Gaertringen revealed the ruins of ancient Thera on Mesa Vouno.^[1] He focused on the settlements of 9th century BC there, believed to be a Spartan colony.

Also, a little later, R. Zahn excavated in the locality of Potamos, under the auspices of the German Archaeological Institute at Athens.

The main excavations at Akrotiri were conducted under the direction of the Archaeological Society of Athens.^{[citation needed]}