The 'ghost' in ancient pine reveals the mysterious age of 3,600-year-old empire

The nearly 3,600-year-old mystery about a mighty empire that seemed to be wiped out momentarily has been deciphered by the looming ghost of a growth cycle of ancient pine trees in North America.

The legendary Minoan civilization was wiped out nearly 3,600 years ago, even more precisely 3,580 years ago due to a volcanic disaster, according to new research led by anthropologist Charlotte Pearson from Greater studied in Arizona (USA).

Scientists have been looking for clues in the rare "witnesses" that exist today: thousands of years old pine trees in North America . A little bit of spooky, sophisticated data in the growth rings of these pine trees accurately recounted the incident, as well as the year of the incident.

Dr. Charlotte Pearson and the boards cut from some old pine trees, which stored "trapped data" about the tragedy 3,580 years ago - (photo: ARIZONA UNIVERSITY).

The eruption of the Thera super volcano occurred in 1,560 BC, causing the Minoan empire with incredible strongholds located on Crete, nearly 100 km from the volcano, to be completely destroyed. A looming "ghost" from the past in one of the thousands of growth rings of pine trees has shown this. It was a very mild growth cycle of calcium deficiency , suggesting that that year, it had to undergo an acid buildup - possibly due to volcanoes.

Compared with the historical data, they found that it coincided with the Thera disaster.

The collapse of the Minoan Empire on Crete from infection has become a hotly debated topic among archaeologists. Despite its destruction, the ruins still leave people in awe today, such as the great Knossos palace and the unbelievable strongholds of ancient times in the empire's capital.

Minoan ruins - the glorious empire in ancient times - (photo: SHUTTERSTOCK / GEORGIOS KRITSITAIS)

The Minoan are believed to have built their paved roads and their first water supply system. Their world is so magnificent that the ancient Greeks admired it. According to legend, the center of Knossos of the Minoan Empire was the home of King Minos, where there was a maze holding a man half a bull and a Minotaur.

It has long been believed that a natural disaster was responsible for the rapid decline of this empire. Skepticism about Thera volcano was brought up by the stories of the famous philosopher Plato. However, until now, thousands of years later, we were able to verify it. The study also nearly knocked out another study last year that Minoan was wiped out by the war.

The research has just been published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

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