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A classification scheme for the large number of fishing-gear sinkers recovered along the Israeli coast is devised. Sinkers, or weights, of lead and stone are classified by material, shape and method of manufacture.

The purpose of this paper is to present a system developed for detection and accurate mapping of ferro-metallic objects buried below the seabed in shallow waters. The system comprises a precise magnetic gradiometer and navigation subsystem, both installed on a non-magnetic catamaran towed by a low-magnetic interfering boat. In addition we present the results of a marine survey of a near-shore area in the vicinity of Atlit, a town situated on the Mediterranean coast of Israel, about 15 km south of Haifa. The primary purpose of the survey was to search for a Harvard airplane that crashed into the sea in 1960. A magnetic map of the survey area (3.5 km2 on a 0.5 m grid) was created revealing the anomalies at sub-meter accuracy. For each investigated target location a corresponding ferro-metallic item was dug out, one of which turned to be very similar to a part of the crashed airplane. The accuracy of location was confirmed by matching the position of the actual dug artifacts with the magnetic map within a range of ± 1 m, in a water depth of 9 m.

Coastal archaeological structures are often used to identify coastal displacements and relative land-sea changes. Settlement of foundations and collapse of coastal stone-built structures, however, can sometimes lead to misinterpretations of sea-level changes or neotectonic activity. Coastal rock-cut installations, on the other hand, because they are cut into the bedrock, are not threatened by settlement or collapse and can serve as reliable indicators for detecting land sea changes. A detailed survey of rock-cut installations along the Israeli coast shows that coastal pools, channels and quarries cut within the last 2500 years are today found at present-day sea level or very close to it and are still able to function. Archaeological and geological indications of major neotectonic activity along the Israeli coast during historical times were re-examined in this study, and were found to be inconsistent with the new data presented. The study concludes that the Israeli coast is relatively stable and that no significant neotectonic movement (> 0.2 m per 1000 years) has occurred during historical times.GALILI, E. & SHARVIT, J. 1998. Ancient coastal installations and the tectonic stability of the Israeli coast in historical times.

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