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

Extensive modern excavation was started in 1967 by Spyridon Marinatos and revealed the full value of this site.
Marinatos's choice of site proved to be correct and just a few hours into the excavation, the remains of the buried city began to be discovered.
The next step was to determine the extent of the city, to which it took two whole seasons devoted to the site in 1967 and 1968.
In the early years of the excavation, a great deal of attention was paid towards the organization of proper facilities for the dig, including substantial workshops, laboratories built for storage, repair and treatment and areas for examination of archaeological finds.
Because of the site being preserved in thick, volcanic debris, Marinatos noted that many of the buildings were preserved to a height of more than a single story, creating unique challenges for excavation.
He experimented with tunneling into the pumice, but this technique was later abandoned.

Some historians hold that this settlement, as well as the disaster that left it unknown to most of history, was the inspiration behind Plato's story of Atlantis, as mentioned in his dialogues Timaeus and Critias.
Excavated artifacts have been installed in a museum distant from the site (Museum of Prehistoric Thera), with many objects and artworks presented.
Only a single gold object has been found, hidden beneath flooring, and no uninterred human skeletal remains have been found.
This indicates that an orderly evacuation was performed with little or no loss of life.

An ambitious modern roof structure, meant to protect the site, collapsed just prior to its completion in 2005, killing one visitor.
No damage was caused to the antiquities.
As a result, the site was closed to visitors until April 2012.
Excavations stopped since 2005 due to lack of funding.
They were resumed in 2016 with sponsor support.

In October 2018, a small shrine with a marble figurine of a woman was discovered in the "House of the Thrania" which is located near Xeste 3, where a golden goat was found in 1999.
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. Also, a little later, R. Zahn excavated in the locality of Potamos, near Akrotiri, under the auspices of the German Archaeological Institute at Athens.
Extensive modern excavation was started in 1967 by Spyridon Marinatos and revealed the full value of this site. Marinatos's choice of site proved to be correct and just a few hours into the excavation, the remains of the buried city began to be discovered. The next step was to determine the extent of the city, to which it took two whole seasons devoted to the site in 1967 and 1968. In the early years of the excavation, a great deal of attention was paid towards the organization of proper facilities for the dig, including substantial workshops, laboratories built for storage, repair and treatment and areas for examination of archaeological finds. Because of the site being preserved in thick, volcanic debris, Marinatos noted that many of the buildings were preserved to a height of more than a single story, creating unique challenges for excavation. He experimented with tunneling into the pumice, but this technique was later abandoned.
Some historians hold that this settlement, as well as the disaster that left it unknown to most of history, was the inspiration behind Plato's story of Atlantis, as mentioned in his dialogues Timaeus and Critias. Excavated artifacts have been installed in a museum distant from the site (Museum of Prehistoric Thera), with many objects and artworks presented. Only a single gold object has been found, hidden beneath flooring, and no uninterred human skeletal remains have been found. This indicates that an orderly evacuation was performed with little or no loss of life.
An ambitious modern roof structure, meant to protect the site, collapsed just prior to its completion in 2005, killing one visitor. No damage was caused to the antiquities. As a result, the site was closed to visitors until April 2012. Excavations stopped since 2005 due to lack of funding. They were resumed in 2016 with sponsor support. 
In October 2018, a small shrine with a marble figurine of a woman was discovered in the "House of the Thrania" which is located near Xeste 3, where a golden goat was found in 1999.
Akrotiri (prehistoric city)