Panel 2.3 – Coastal geoarchaeology in the Mediterranean – on the interdependence of landscape dynamics, harbour installations and economic prosperity in the littoral realm


Organisation/Vorsitz:

  • Max Engel (Universität Köln)
  • Friederike Stock (Universität Köln)

Vortragende:

Panel abstract

Mediterranean coastlines are highly dynamic geomorphic landscapes with lateral progradation of up to tens of kilometres in alluvial delta regions during the last 5000 years. After the significant deceleration of post-glacial eustatic sea-level rise around 7000-6000 years ago, a complex interplay of regional and local factors such as vertical tectonic movements, glacial isostatic rebound, sediment supply by rivers and coastal currents, deltaic compaction, and human intervention, led to locally different histories of coastal formation. As the coastal zone provided essential access to food, maritime commerce and colonisation activities, its dynamical nature had a significant impact on the prosperity of ancient communities. In fact, Mediterranean harbours as the gateways to the maritime realm were constantly threatened by gradual sedimentation, tectonic uplift or subsidence, as well as extreme events such as earthquakes or tsunamis. Many harbours became landlocked due to coastal progradation with fundamental repercussions on the political and economic status of ancient poleis.

We invite any contributions studying the influence of the dynamic, physical coastal environment on human communities during Antiquity, may this influence be through gradual, long-term sedimentary or geomorphic processes, or episodic such as through earthquakes or tsunamis. We also invite contributions on any type of ancient human influence on the physical coastal environment including but not limited to the implementation of engineering measures or chemical or sedimentary imprints. All types of contributions are envisaged, including excavation- and field-based case studies, those comprising numerical models, synthesising reviews or advances in scientific methodology and techniques.

Paper abstracts

1. Matthieu Giaime und Christophe Morhange (Aix-Marseille Université CEREGE) / Nick Marrine (CNRS) / Michal Artzy (University of Haifa)

Geoarchaeology reveals Coastline and River Changes and their Effects on Tel Akko’s Ancient Anchorages
Since the first archaeological excavations undertaken in the 1970’s/1980's, Tel Akko is known to have been an important trade city from the early 2nd millennium BC onwards. Even if the site has been intensively excavated, no palaeoenvironmental studies looking to understand coastal changes near the tell since the Bronze Age had been undertaken until recently. Our research is based on the study of sedimentological cores drilled at the foot of the tell and in the Old City of Akko, 1500 m west of the tell. We validate the coastal changes, already proposed by previous studies, while clarifying the chronology of these changes. We propose that he southern anchorage was located in the river-dominated mouth of the Na’aman until the early Persian Period. This anchorage shifted to the “open” western coast of the tell during the Persian Period before its subsequent relocation to the rocky promontory of Akko in Hellenistic times. We attempted to locate the Hellenistic harbour of Akko by coring in the Old City, in proximity to the modern harbour. At that time, one harbour was in a semi-protected pocket beach at the foot of the promontory.

 

2. Andreas Vött (Institute of Geography, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz) / Franziska Lang (Department of Classical Archaeology, Technische Universität Darmstadt ) / Lea Obrocki (Institute of Geography, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz) / Birgitta Eder (Austrian Academy of Sciences, Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology) / Hans-Joachim Gehrke (Seminar für Alte Geschichte, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg)

Major floods in the littoral realm of Elis and their potential influence on the cult site of Olympia (Peloponnese, Greece)
The cult site of Olympia is located 21 km inland from the Gulf of Kyparissia (Peloponnese, Greece). Since 2015, we have carried out an interdisciplinary landscape archaeological project together with the German Archaeological Institute.
Geoarchaeological studies, comprising geophysical prospection and vibracoring, revealed strong stratigraphical consistencies between sedimentary records at Olympia, in the Kladeos and Alpheios River valleys and in coastal plains near Pyrgos. Also, we found evidence of crust uplift of minimum 13-20 m during the past 6000 or so years. Our data allow detecting several catastrophic floods, partly as tsunamis from the seaside, since the mid-Holocene. In contrast, thick freshwater lake deposits indicate stable ecological conditions over centuries.
Settlement activities and economic structures were studied by an archaeological survey. Considering the influence of environmental changes on economics and man-environment interactions, the research dilemma is as follows: Archaeological and historical analyses are usually based on the present landscape, but archaeological findings, associated to past landscapes, are mostly used for interpretation. In the Olympia project, results from geoarchaeological studies are regarded as integral part of archaeological analyses and allow shedding new light on the interdependencies between economic and natural factors in a diachronic perspective, i.e. based on different palaeolandscapes and their changing connectivity.

 

3. Lukasz Miszk (Jagiellonian University in Kraków) / Wojciech Ostrowski (Warsaw University of Technology) / Tomasz Kalicki und Sławomir Chwałek (Uniwersytet Jana Kochanowskiego w Kielcach) / Ewdoksia Papuci-Władyka und Weronika Winiarska (Jagiellonian University in Kraków)

Engulfed past. Nea Paphos (Cyprus) north-west bay as an example of interdependence between human and environment
The changes of Anthropogenic environmental brought on a complete disappearance of natural vegetation and led to transformation of an erosion-accumulation cycle in the river’s valley which triggered to changes of shoreline near Nea Paphos (Cyprus).
In our paper, we would like to present an attempt to reconstruct the processes which influenced the formation of the coastline of the peninsula where the ancient city of Nea Paphos was located. Those processes could have had an anthropogenic origin (e.g. deforestation), but also could have depended on natural factors (e.g. accumulation of sediments). Such reconstruction is an extremely complex task in ancient history, and at the same time it is crucial to understand the economics of ancient port cities such as Nea Paphos. This research task must be carried out on the basis of interdisciplinary studies, with the primary role of geoarcheology.
In our work the results of geoarcheological studies (drilling, analysis and dating of thermoluminescence and optically stimulated luminescence alluvia) carried out in the north-west bay of Paphos and adjacent areas of the nearby rivers, supported by analysis of archival sources (historical maps, travel memoirs, etc.) and remote sensing data (Numerical Terrain Model, archival images, etc.) will be presented. The results of our studies allowed to verify a hypothesis on the possible existence of a second harbour in the Hellenistic and Roman capital of Cyprus.

 

4. Alba Mazza (The University of Sydney)

The coastal landscape of a Western Greek city. The case of Selinus
Through an interdisciplinary approach this paper presents the results of the investigation of the coastal landscape of one of the most famous Western Greek cities: Selinus, Sicily-Italy. New sources, including unpublished archaeological evidence, ancient and modern literature, historical cartography, and geological and sedimentological data from geoarchaeological investigation have been analysed.
New elements of the palaeolandscape have been discovered, for example, a suspect submerged palaeoshoreline has been detected, whose shape might suggest a much more longer acropolis. Moreover, evidence of a pre-Greek coastal palaeolagoon environment and recurrent flooding dated to the Archaic and Classical period have enabled a better understanding of environmental engineering and landscape managing skills the Greeks adopted in order to cope with the challenging of living in a coastal environment. Harbour sedimentation provoked by long-term sedimentary process can be suggested. Evidence of past extreme events (earthquakes and possbile tsunamis) shed light on the geohazards of living on Selinus.
As a result of this study, already known archaeological contexts, such as sanctuaries and fortifications, can be now framed more cogently, and harbor infrastructures are now better understood. Therefore, it is now possible to have a more solid foundation for understading the role of the shore in the lives of the Selinuntinians and the human-coastal environment interactions.

 

5. Felix Teichner (Philipps-Universität Marburg) / Klaus Reicherter und Helmut Brückner (Universität zu Köln) / Florian Hermann und Kevin Paul (Philipps-Universität Marburg)

The Impact of Coastal Changes on the maritime economy of Roman Hispania
Besides mining and farming, the maritime economy with its distinctive fish sauce production (garum) should be acknowledged amongst the pillars of the proverbial flourishing of the Roman Hispanic provinces. The focus of this interdisciplinary research project financed by the DFG since 2017 is particularly the vulnerability of this fish-processing industry, as well as its complex production networks, when confronted with short and long-term natural phenomena occurring at the highly dynamic Atlantic coast. The multidisciplinary project analyses selectively archaeological and geological records (production facilities and sediment archives) in three areas along the Atlantic coast of Lusitania and Baetica, in order to detect the reasons for drastic changes in fish-sauce production during the Roman Empire. Within the framework of the project, roman port and production installations are prospected with geofisical methods and excavated. At the same time, the former geomorphological and environmental setting is reconstructed. Furthermore, the attested local extreme events are traced with geoarchaeological methods and cross-checked with historical accounts about natural catastrophes and their long-range impacts on the roman sea-side settlements.

 

6. Reinhard Stupperich und Corinna Stupperich (Universität Heidelberg)

Economy and the Persian Wars. The Case of Troizen
Before the battle at Salamis in 480/79 BC some Athenians evacuated their families and household members to Salamis and Aigina, but most of them send theirs to Troizen, where part of the hellenic navy had already assembled (Hdt. VIII 41f. Paus. II 31, 7). As six triremes and 1.000 hoplites from Troizen are said to have taken part in the battles of Artemision, of Salamis and of Plataiai respectively (Hdt. VII 180; VIII 43; IX 28), Troizen must have had about 10.000 residents. Together with the Athenian refugees a multiple of these residents must have stayed at Troizen before the battle of Salamis. The provisions needed for the survival of these persons indicate, that it was at least in part its economic prosperity, which made Troizen especially attractive as a refuge, and which lasted as numerous sanctuaries and costly tombs imply at least until the early byzantine period. On the basis of the results of an interdisciplinary survey focusing not only on the archaeological remains of Troizen but also on the climatic, geological and pedological conditions prevailing in the area the basis for Troizen’s economy and its attractiveness as a refuge shall be investigated in this paper.

"Economy and the Persian Wars. The Case of Troizen" (Fulltext)

 

7. Sabine Ladstätter, Walter Prochaska und Roman Sauer (Österreichisches Archäologisches Institut)

Der Kaiser hatte doch recht! | Neue Erkenntnisse zur Verschmutzung des Hafens von Ephesos mit Marmorabrasiv
Aus Ephesos ist ein Dekret (IvE) des unter Kaiser Antoninus Pius eingesetzten Statthalters der Provinz Asia, Lucius Antonius Albus, überliefert, in dem das Ableiten von Marmormehl sowie Schmirgel in den Hafen verboten wurde, mit dem Ziel der Verschlammung des Beckens Einhalt zu gebieten. In der archäologischen Forschung stand man der Bedeutung dieses anthropogenen Eintrags lange Zeit skeptisch gegenüber und brachte vielmehr den natürlichen Sedimentationsprozess mit den permanent notwendigen Wartungsarbeiten in Verbindung. Die Auswertung der Schwermineralien in Sedimenten aus Bohrkernen, die im Hafenbecken von Ephesos gezogen wurden, zeigen nun allerdings eine extrem hohe Kontamination mit Korund, dem üblichen Schleifmittel bei der Marmorverarbeitung und scheinen dadurch das Verbot des Kaisers rechtzufertigen.
Unter diesem Aspekt scheint es notwendig, einerseits das Baumaterial Marmor unter dem Aspekt lokaler Vorkommen im Verhältnis zu Importen zu diskutieren, andererseits die Frage zu stellen, welche Verarbeitungsschritte an Ort und Stelle im Zuge der großen Bauprogramme der 1. Hälfe des 2. Jahrhunderts erfolgten, wie der Abfallprozess von statten ging und mit und mit welchen Abfallvolumina eigentlich zu rechnen ist. Darüber hinaus werden die petrographischen Ergebnisse aus dem Hafenbecken mit jenen aus natürlichen Milieus im Umland von Ephesos verglichen und zudem die Vorkommen und der Abbau von Korund in der Region analysiert.

 

8. Camilla Colombi (Deutsches Archäologisches Institut)

Ein Hafen am Prile-See? Neue Erkenntnisse zur Ausdehnung der Bucht bei Castiglione della Pescaia
Die Küsten der Toskana waren in der Antike durch zahlreichen Buchten und Lagunen gekennzeichnet. Eine der größten, der Prile-See, erstreckte sich am Anfang des 1. Jahrtausend v. Chr. über weite Teile der heutigen Ebene von Grosseto und war direkt mit dem Meer verbunden. Im Laufe der Jahrhunderte versandete dieser allmählich ein, sodass bereits in römischer Zeit die Verbindung zum Meer künstlich aufrechterhalten werden musste.
Die Änderungen in der Ausdehnung der Bucht wurden schon mehrfach untersucht. Weniger Beachtung hat dagegen die Frage nach der Lage der Anlegestellen gefunden, die mit den beiden etruskischen Zentren Vetulonia und Roselle in Verbindung zu bringen sind. Insbesondere im Falle von Vetulonia ist diese Frage von hohem Interesse, da der Wohlstand der Stadt maßgeblich auf dem Handel mit Rohstoffen basierte, der wohl über einen oder mehrere Häfen am Prile-See abgewickelt wurde.
Um einen Beitrag zur Lokalisierung der Anlegestellen zu leisten, wurden 2016 und 2017 geophysikalische Prospektionen südöstlich des Vetulonia-Hügels unternommen, die in 2018 durch Bohrungen ergänzt werden sollen. Die identifizierten Strukturen sind auf Grund der verkehrsgünstigen Lage, ihrer Ausdehnung und Charakteristika als mögliche Hafenanlage zu deuten. Ihre Auffindung wirft wiederum neue Fragen hinsichtlich der Ausdehnung der Bucht und der Auswirkungen der Versandung der Anlegestellen auf die Entwicklung der Stadt auf.

"Ein Hafen am Prile-See? Neue Erkenntnisse zur Ausdehnung der Bucht bei Castiglione della Pescaia" (Fulltext)