 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".