Five widespread tephra layers are found in late Quaternary sediments (0130,000yr B.P.) of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. These layers have been correlated among abyssal cores and to their respective terrestrial sources by electron-probe
microanalysis of glass and pumice shards. Major element variations are sufficient to discriminate unambiguously between the five major layers. Oxygen isotope stratigraphy in one of the cores studied was used to data four of the five layers. Two of the widespread
layers are derived from explosive eruptions of the Santorini volcanic complex: the Minoan Ash (3370yr B.P.) and the Acrotiri Ignimbrite (18,000yr B.P.). An additional layer, found in one core only, is most likely correlated to the Middle Pumice Series