Integrating Geomorphological Data, Geochronology and Archaeological Evidence for Coastal Landscape Reconstruction, the Case of Ammoudara Beach, Crete

Abstract

Understanding the processes that govern the transformation of the landscape through time is essential for exploring the evolution of a coastal area. Coastal landscapes are dynamic sites, with their evolution strongly linked with waves and sea level variations. Geomorphological features in the coastal area, such as beachrock formations and dune fields, can function as indicators of the coastal landscape evolution through time. However, our knowledge of the chronological framework of coastal deposits in the Aegean coasts is limited. Optically Stimulated Luminescence dating techniques are deemed to be very promising in direct dating of the coastal sediments, especially when they are linked with archaeological evidence. The dating of the sediments from different sediment core depths, determined by the method of luminosity, allowed us to calculate the rate of sediment deposition over time. More recent coastal evolution and stability were examined from 1945 to 2020 with the use of aerial photographs and satellite images. This paper presents the 6000 ka evolution of a coastal landscape based on geomorphological, archaeological, and radio-chronological data. Based on the results, the early stages of the Ammoudara beach dune field appears to have been formed ~9.0–9.6 ka BP, while the OSL ages from 6 m depth represented the timing of its stabilization (OSL ages ~5–6 ka). This indicates that the dune field appears to already have been formed long before the Bronze Age (5–10 ka BP). It became stabilized with only localized episodes of dune reactivation occurring. In contrast, while high coastal erosion rates were calculated for modern times.

Palaeogeographical Reconstruction of Ancient Diolkos Slipway by Using Beachrocks as Proxies, West Corinth Isthmus, Greece

“…Beachrocks are frequently used to determine late Holocene shoreline changes for the reconstruction of paleo-shorelines and as sea level indicators for the study of relative sea level changes in various coastal environments [10,12,[17][18][19][20][21][22]. In the absence of other sea level indicators, especially along sandy coastlines, they can provide significant data on relative sea level changes, or even in combination with other sea level markers.…”

“…In the absence of other sea level indicators, especially along sandy coastlines, they can provide significant data on relative sea level changes, or even in combination with other sea level markers. Such is the case of the Aegean Sea, where beachrock occurrences are particularly common [12,18,20,[22][23][24][25][26].…”