La baie d'Utique et son évolution depuis l'Antiquité : une réévaluation géoarchéologique

Abstract

The Medjerda deltaic plain corresponds to a former marine gulf which has been progressively filled up during the Holocene up to the historic period as a result of numerous shifts of the river course. The area is relatively well known from archaeological viewpoint since ancient writings, relating events which took place here in Antiquity, are available. Many scientists - historians, archaeologists, geologists, geomorphologists, hydrologists - have been for a long time interested in unravelling différents stages in the development of the deltaic plain. As soon as 1884, Ch. Tissot suggested that the deltaic plain developed from south to north in historical times. Such proposal is still considered as valid. The crucial point is to determine when the Medjerda river shifted northward, opening a new channel between the former Utica peninsula and the Galaat el Andless promontory (Castra Corneliana). As a result, the harbour of Utica filled up and the city declined. During a recent archaeological and geomorphological survey covering the entire deltaic plain, ceramics were collected from fifty sites and dated. They point to an early filling up of the former gulf, especially of the area south-east of Utica. Therefore investigations aimed to find out remnants of the ancient harbour facilities have to be carried out on the northern side of the peninsula. Pre-roman settements existed on the clay dunes scattered in the surroundings of Pont-de-Bizerte. Such an early human occupation suggess that the central part of the deltaic plain dad been already filled up prior to the foundation of Utica when the so-called Chaouat channel, whose traces are still visible north of Jebel Maiana, was operating.

The Geoarchaeology of Utica, Tunisia: The Paleogeography of the Mejerda Delta and Hypotheses Concerning the Location of the Ancient Harbor

“…These conclusions appear to be confirmed by the archaeological surveys carried out on the delta in the 1990s (Chelbi, Paskoff, & Trousset, 1995). These revealed in particular an archaeological site that had been occupied from the Punic period (site no.…”

“…These revealed in particular an archaeological site that had been occupied from the Punic period (site no. We can thus definitively exclude our predecessors' hypothesis of a silting-up of the northern compartment in late Antiquity by the paleochannels visible on the surface (Paskoff & Trousset, 1992;Chelbi, Paskoff, & Trousset, 1995). We can thus definitively exclude our predecessors' hypothesis of a silting-up of the northern compartment in late Antiquity by the paleochannels visible on the surface (Paskoff & Trousset, 1992;Chelbi, Paskoff, & Trousset, 1995).…”

“…This infilling of sediment has been studied through the written sources (Tissot, 1884), then by means of archaeology (Reyniers, 1951;Lézine, 1966Lézine, , 1970 and geology (Pimienta, 1959;Jauzein, 1971) and most recently using geoarchaeology (Paskoff, 1985(Paskoff, , 1994Paskoff, Slim, & Trousset, 1991;Paskoff & Trousset, 1992;Chelbi, Paskoff, & Trousset, 1995;Slim et al, 2004;Oueslati, Charfi, & Baccar, 2006). This infilling of sediment has been studied through the written sources (Tissot, 1884), then by means of archaeology (Reyniers, 1951;Lézine, 1966Lézine, , 1970 and geology (Pimienta, 1959;Jauzein, 1971) and most recently using geoarchaeology (Paskoff, 1985(Paskoff, , 1994Paskoff, Slim, & Trousset, 1991;Paskoff & Trousset, 1992;Chelbi, Paskoff, & Trousset, 1995;Slim et al, 2004;Oueslati, Charfi, & Baccar, 2006).…”

Environmental characteristics, landscape history and pressures on three coastal lagoons in the Southern Mediterranean Region: Merja Zerga (Morocco), Ghar El Melh (Tunisia) and Lake Manzala (Egypt)

“…The city was eventually eclipsed by its rival Carthage to the south. From around the third century AD, the city's harbour began to silt up with sediment brought down by the Mejerda River (Paskoff, 1985;Oueslati, 1993a, b;Chelbi & Paskoff, 1995;Oueslati, 1999;Oueslati, 2004;Slim et al, 2004). By the early Medieval Period, it was completely buried beneath sediment and the gradual filing of Utica Bay means that it is now some 15 km inland.…”

A tribute to Roland Paskoff (1933–2005): Friend and colleague

“…Many of his publications from Chile focus on Holocene tectonics or sea level changes recorded in displaced terraces and beach features (Paskoff, 1989;Ota and Paskoff, 1993), including a timely article on evidence for ancient tsunami deposits (Paskoff, 1991). The theme of shoreline displacement is evident in many of the Tunisian papers as they incorporate archeological evidence for sealevel elevation and evolving responses of the coast to differing patterns of sediment activation and distribution, often involving human agency (Paskoff, 1987;Paskoff and Oueslati, 1991;Chelbi et al, 1995;Paskoff et al, 2004).…”