Minoan eruption is debated. Early theories proposed that ashfall from Thera on the eastern half of Crete choked off plant life, causing starvation of the local population. However, after more thorough field examinations, the theory has lost credibility, as it has been determined that no more than of ash fell anywhere on Crete. Other theories have been proposed based on archeological evidence found on Crete indicating that a tsunami, likely associated with the eruption, impacted the coastal areas of Crete and may have devastated the Minoan coastal settlements. Another theory is that much of the damage done to Minoan sites resulted from
Minoan pottery which first workshop painters begin to be identifiable through their characteristic motifs; as with all Minoan art, no name ever appears. In LMIB, the Marine Style also emerges; in this style, perhaps inspired by frescoes, the entire surface of a pot was covered with sea creatures, octopus, fish and dolphins, against a background of rocks, seaweed and sponges (Examples 1, Examples 2, Examples 3, Examples 4. The Marine Style is more free flowing with no distinct zones, because it shows sea creatures as floating, as they would in the ocean. The Marine style was the last purely Minoan style; towards