Foraminifera as markers of Holocene sea-level fluctuations and water depths of ancient harbours — A case study from the Bay of Elaia (W Turkey)

Seeliger, Martin; Pint, Anna; Frenzel, Peter; Feuser, Stefan; Pirson, Felix; Riedesel, Svenja; Brückner, Helmut

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2017.05.017

Cited by 21 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Based on our results from within the closed and open harbours, relative sea level around the birth of Christ was approximately 1.50 m lower than today. Thus, water depth at this time should not have exceeded more than 1.30–1.50 m (Pint et al ., ; Seeliger et al ., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…This is the time of the maximum marine extension in the Bay of Elaia, when sea level was 3.3–2.4 m lower than today (Seeliger et al ., ). The coastal zone reached northwards along the slopes of Bozyertepe, almost up to Ela 9 where one of Elaia's cemeteries was located (Pirson, ).…”

Section: Bcmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…This scenario represents the period when Elaia started to prosper, when sea level was just 1.6–2.0 m lower than today (Seeliger et al ., ). Archaeological findings document intense human activities on the Acropolis and in the eastern city district (Pirson, ).…”

Section: Bcmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Water depth in the closed harbour basin was c . 2.5 m, sufficient for all common battle and merchant ship classes used by the Pergamenians at that time (Seeliger et al ., ). Similar considerations also hold true for the area of the open harbour, including the presumed Hellenistic ship sheds where water depth was c .…”

Section: Bcmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This scenario represents the time when Elaia was at or near the end of its prime. In several areas, the shoreline was close to its present position and sea level was only 0.4–0.6 m lower than today (Seeliger et al ., ). All corings present terrestrial sedimentation patterns for this period.…”

Section: Ad 500mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Elaia, Pergamon's maritime satellite: the rise and fall of an ancient harbour city shaped by shoreline migration

Seeliger

Pint

Feuser

et al. 2019

J Quaternary Science

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Throughout human history, communication and trade have been key to society. Because maritime trade facilitated the rapid transportation of passengers and freight at relatively low cost, harbours became hubs for traffic, trade and exchange. This general statement holds true for the Pergamenian kingdom, which ruled wide parts of today's western Turkey during Hellenistic times. Its harbour, located at the city of Elaia on the eastern Aegean shore, was used extensively for commercial and military purposes. This study reconstructs the coastal evolution in and around the ancient harbour of Elaia and compares the observed environmental modifications with archaeological and historical findings. We use micropalaeontological, sedimentological and geochemical proxies to reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental dynamics and evolution of the ancient harbour. The geoarchaeological results confirm the archaeological and historical evidence for Elaia's primacy during Hellenistic and early Roman times, and the city's gradual decline during the late Roman period. Furthermore, our study demonstrates that Elaia holds a unique position as a harbour city during ancient times in the eastern Aegean region, because it was not greatly influenced by the high sediment supply associated with river deltas. Consequently, no dredging of the harbour basins is documented, creating exceptional geo‐bioarchives for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Bcmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Bcmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Bcmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ad 500mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Elaia, Pergamon's maritime satellite: the rise and fall of an ancient harbour city shaped by shoreline migration

Seeliger

Pint

Feuser

et al. 2019

J Quaternary Science

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On the geoarchaeology of Limyra (SW Anatolia)—new insights into the famous Lycian city and its environs

et al. 2020

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Geoarchives in ancient settlement sites and their environs bear valuable information about Holocene landscape evolution and human–environment interactions. During the last six millennia, sea‐level and coastline changes have had a significant impact on coastal settlements, some of which even had to be relocated. This paper reveals new insights into the spatio‐temporal development of the Lycian city of Limyra. Selected sediment cores were analyzed using a multiproxy approach, combining sedimentology, geochemistry, micropaleontology, and 14C dating. When the postglacial sea‐level rise decelerated, a coastal barrier and a deep lake, presumably a lagoon, evolved after the mid‐Holocene. The siltation history of the lake is complex: three coastal peat layers (mid‐4th millennium BC, end of 3rd/beginning of 2nd millennium BC, beginning of 1st millennium BC), indicate periods of semiterrestrial conditions. That they are sandwiched by lake sediments is consistent with new expansion phases of the lake, most likely triggered by coseismic subsidence. There is evidence of a former lakeshore, dated to between 1400 and 1100 BC, with an intentionally deposited layer of anthropogenic remains, now at 5.5 m below the surface. In the mid‐1st millennium BC, the lake silted up, river channels evolved, and people started to settle the area of the later city of Limyra.

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Relative sea‐level changes along the Fethiye coast (SW Turkey) based on recent archaeological data

Kızıldağ

Özdaş

2021

Geoarchaeology

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We investigated three coastal archaeological sites along the coast of Fethiye (south‐western Turkey, eastern Mediterranean) to reveal relative sea‐level changes that have occurred since early Byzantine times. Focusing on this little known period, the most recent archaeological data are presented here, providing new data for the history of sea‐level changes. Current elevations of submerged archaeological remains relative to present sea level were measured, and relative sea‐level change was determined, based on an approximation of the original elevation. The contemporary archaeological structures revealed three different sea levels in adjacent areas. Taking into account the time of the last use of the structures, instead of their time of construction, we suggest a relative sea‐level rise at a minimum rate of 1.6 ± 0.3 mm/year for Şövalye Island, 2.1 ± 0.3 mm/year for Gemiler Island, and 2.2 ± 0.6 mm/year for Ölüdeniz Lagoon for the last 1400 years. A comparison of the study results and geoarchaeological data from nearby sites on the western coasts of Fethiye Gulf revealed the degree of sea‐level change impact upon coastal archaeological sites. Results demonstrate that the seismically active Fethiye coast has been strongly influenced by the vertical tectonic movement since early Byzantine times.

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Foraminifera as markers of Holocene sea-level fluctuations and water depths of ancient harbours — A case study from the Bay of Elaia (W Turkey)

Cited by 21 publications

References 48 publications

Elaia, Pergamon's maritime satellite: the rise and fall of an ancient harbour city shaped by shoreline migration

Elaia, Pergamon's maritime satellite: the rise and fall of an ancient harbour city shaped by shoreline migration

On the geoarchaeology of Limyra (SW Anatolia)—new insights into the famous Lycian city and its environs

Relative sea‐level changes along the Fethiye coast (SW Turkey) based on recent archaeological data

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