1583BCE: Year of the Santorini Eruption

There is this ominous theory that tidal forces from the sun and moon can trigger earthquakes and volcanic eruptions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Wikinaut/Moon-Earthquake-Theory

As some of you know, I have been working on a fantasy/mythology book titled Bastard Heroes. Anyway, I've been doing quite a bit of research on the Minoan Eruption of Santorini/Thera, one of the worst volcanic eruptions since the end of the last ice age. The volcanic island is just north of Crete in the middle of the Aegean Sea, and has some extraordinarily well-preserved ash-covered ruins that seem eerily Atlantean (they had running water and everything).

The date of the eruption is one of intense scientific debate, somewhere around 1600 BCE +/- 50/100 years. Quite a wide window, especially considering the effects it may have had on Greek, Egyptian, and Middle-Eastern histories. However, using the Tidal-Earthquake theory, I have found that the eclipse that occur ed on July 31st 1583BCE to be extraordinarily promising, since it goes right over Thera and Crete (zoom in on the Mediterranean):

http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/solar_eclipses/xSE_GoogleMapFull.php?Ecl=-15830731&Acc=1&Umb=1&Lmt=1&Mag=0


A total solar eclipse right over the supervolcano, within 17 years of the rough estimate of the date of the eruption? Good enough for me.


Lurker