Volcanic ash, victims, and tsunami debris from the Late Bronze Age Thera eruption discovered at Çeşme-Bağlararası (Turkey)

Significance The significance of this study is multi-faceted, touching upon methodological advances in multidisciplinary approaches (earth sciences/geology–archaeology) as well as contributing to the historical and chronological understanding of the Late Bronze Age Thera eruption impacts. Our study presents physical evidence that very large, damaging tsunamis arrived even in the northern Aegean, an area previously assumed to be affected only by ash fallout. The tsunami deposits at Çeşme-Bağlararası contain the first victims (human and dog) ever identified related to the eruption and its immediate consequences. The work also introduces nine radiocarbon ages directly from the event deposit that will be of great interest and cause significant discussion amongst scholars, particularly given their context within a well-constrained, undisturbed, stratigraphic archaeological sequence.