Saints and Sinners: a tephrochronology for Late Antique landscape change in Epirus from the eruptive history of Lipari, Aeolian Islands

Bescoby, David; Barclay, Jenni; Andrews, Julian E.

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2008.04.013

Cited by 15 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 16 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The intense progradation of Bistrica and Pavllo river deltas during the 11 th to 13 th centuries, likely related to the re-activation of farming in the Vrina Plain might have also contributed to mass-wasting activity, increasing the sensitivity of Butrint to potential triggering mechanisms, such as earthquakes. In fact, sediment cores recovered at the most distal areas of the Vrina Plain, revealed that a swamp was established after 1270-1390 AD (Bescoby et al, 2008). Accordingly, the maximum alluviation of the area, with a location of the delta front similar to the present (Fig 1C), was reached by this time, what is in agreement with results from the Shen-Delli archaeological site (Hounslow and Chepstow-Lusty, 2004).…”

Section: The Medieval Climate Anomaly (800-1300 Ad)supporting

confidence: 87%

“…The intensification of farming activities in the watershed might be also responsible for the increase in runoff and sediment delivery. In fact, the maximum peak in clastic input, reflected by Ti/Ca ratio, coincides with the maximum occupation of the city, during late Roman and early Byzantine times (Bescoby et al, 2008;Martin, 2004) ( Fig. 8).…”

Section: Lake Butrint From the Archaic To The Early Medieval Period (mentioning

confidence: 86%

“…1B) (Ariztegui et al, 2010;Martin, 2004). A series of boreholes along the margins of the Vrina floodplain clearly indicates the environmental transformation of the area from an open coastal embayment, to estuarine wetlands at ~1270-1390 AD and finally to a river floodplain (Bescoby et al, 2008). Butrint, an important ancient harbor since Greek times declined progressively as it became more isolated from the Ionian Sea.…”

Section: Lake Evolution and Human Occupation In The Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This situation demonstrates again that this increase in clastic input had an important anthropogenic contribution, and that, this period of settlement and farming expansion was not significantly favoured by stable or favorable climate conditions. It is also noteworthy that swamps expanded significantly in the distal areas of the Vrina Plain at the end of this phase of farming intensification (Bescoby et al, 2008). This environmental change might be a naturally-driven process due to the continuous progradation of the Pavllo River delta or a consequence of the adoption of different agricultural strategies resulting in an increased sediment loading of inflowing rivers that tipped the environmental balance (Bescoby, 2013).…”

Section: Human -Climate Interactions In Butrint During Historical Timesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Human–climate interactions in the central Mediterranean region during the last millennia: The laminated record of Lake Butrint (Albania)

Morellón

Anselmetti

Ariztegui

et al. 2016

Quaternary Science Reviews

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Lake Butrint (39°47 N, 20°1 E) is a ca. 21 m deep, coastal lagoon located in SW Albania where finely-laminated sediments have been continuously deposited during the last millennia. The multi-proxy analysis (sedimentology, high-resolution elemental geochemistry and pollen) of a 12 m long sediment core, supported by seven AMS radiocarbon dates and 137Cs dating, enable a precise reconstruction of the environmental change that occurred in the central Mediterranean region during the last ∼4.5 cal kyrs BP. Sediments consist of triplets of authigenic carbonates, organic matter and clayey laminae. Fluctuations in the thickness and/or presence of these different types of seasonal laminae indicate variations in water salinity, organic productivity and runoff in the lake's catchment, as a result of the complex interplay of tectonics, anthropogenic forcing and climate variability. The progradation of the Pavllo river delta, favoured by variable human activity from the nearby ancient city of Butrint, led to the progressive isolation of this hydrological system from the Ionian Sea. The system evolved from an open bay to a restricted lagoon, which is consistent with archaeological data. An abrupt increase in mass-wasting activity between 1515 and 1450 BC, likely caused by nearby seismic activity, led to the accumulation of 24 homogenites, up to 17 cm thick. They have been deposited during the onset of finely laminated sedimentation, which indicates restricted, anoxic bottom water conditions and higher salinity. Periods of maximum water salinity, biological productivity, and carbonate precipitation coincide with warmer intervals, such as the early Roman Warm Period (RWP) (500 BC–0 AD), the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) (800–1400 AD) and recent times (after 1800 AD). Conversely, lower salinity and more oxic conditions, with higher clastic input were recorded during 1400–500 BC, the Late Roman and the Early Medieval periods (0–800 AD) and during the Little Ice Age (1400–1800 AD). Hydrological fluctuations recorded in Butrint are in phase with most central and western Mediterranean records and correlate with NAO variability. In contrast, opposite hydrological patterns have been recorded in the Eastern Balkans and the Levant during the last millennium, emphasizing a complex spatial variability in the region. Phases of maximum settlement intensity in Butrint (Roman-Late Antique) coincide with warmer and/or stable climate periods (0–800 AD and MCA, respectively), indicating a long-term influence of climatic conditions on human activities. The Late Holocene sedimentary record of Lake Butrint demonstrates the complex interplay of climate variability, tectonics and human impact in the recent evolution of coastal Mediterranean regions

show abstract

Section: The Medieval Climate Anomaly (800-1300 Ad)supporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Lake Butrint From the Archaic To The Early Medieval Period (mentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: Lake Evolution and Human Occupation In The Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Human -Climate Interactions In Butrint During Historical Timesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Human–climate interactions in the central Mediterranean region during the last millennia: The laminated record of Lake Butrint (Albania)

Morellón

Anselmetti

Ariztegui

et al. 2016

Quaternary Science Reviews

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…To the best of our knowledge, this is the first extra-regional report of a Shiveluch tephra. Bourgeois et al (2006), Kyle et al (2011), Ponomareva et al (2015; and for Lipari on Bescoby et al (2008) and Albert et al (2012). Secondary glass standard measurements on Lipari reference material, measured with QUB-132, are also shown, as well as its mean recommended value (normalised; Kuehn et al, 2011).…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 95%

Defining the potential source region of volcanic ash in northwest Europe during the Mid- to Late Holocene

Plunkett

Pilcher

2018

Earth-Science Reviews

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Far-travelled volcanic ash (fine-grained tephra) clouds pose economic and societal risks largely through their potential impact on the aviation industry. A long view of ash clouds extending over northwest Europe assembled from the study and geochemical characterization of cryptotephra (i.e. tephra invisible to the naked eye) in sedimentary records can help inform the understanding of the frequency of such events, and the nature of eruptions that generate them. Here we review the records of cryptotephra deposition in northwest Europe during the Mid-to Late Holocene (the last eight millennia) to gain insights into the sources of volcanic ash reaching this region. We consider almost 500 published and unpublished datasets for cryptotephras recorded in sedimentary sequences ranging from Ireland to Latvia and, on the basis of their major element geochemical composition, we identify 90 unique ash horizons and their likely provenance. The majority (72%) of the cryptotephras derive from Icelandic eruptions, but a large proportion (24%) originates from other volcanic regions, including Alaska, the Cascades, Kamchatka, Mexico, the Azores and possibly the Mediterranean. Although moderate magnitude eruptions in Iceland may potentially disperse ash clouds over Europe, it appears that only large magnitude events in more distant regions have generally had this capacity and then only when suitable meteorological conditions prevailed. Nevertheless, the cryptotephra records demonstrate that ash clouds from most volcanic regions capable of producing large explosive eruptions in the northern mid-to high latitudes, particularly those to the west of Europe, as well as in tropical North America, have the potential to extend to northwest Europe. Volcanic ash forecasts for this region need therefore to take into account possible risks posed not only by Icelandic eruptions, but also by any large magnitude eruptions in North America or the North Pacific area.

show abstract

Dynamics of shallow hydrothermal eruptions: new insights from Vulcano’s Breccia di Commenda eruption

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Understanding the dynamics and effects of hydrothermal eruptions is crucial to the hazard assessment in both volcanic and geothermal areas. Eruptions from hydrothermal centers may occur associated with magmatic phases, but also as isolated events without magmatic input, with the most recent examples being those of Te Maari (Tongariro, New Zealand) in 2012 and Ontake (Japan) in 2014.The most recent caldera of the Island of Vulcano (southern Italy) hosts in its center the La Fossa cone, active since 5.5 ka and now characterized by continuous fumarolic degassing. In historical times La Fossa cone has experienced several hydrothermal eruptions, with the most violent event being the Breccia di Commenda eruption, that occurred during the 13 th century AD. Based on analysis of 170 stratigraphic logs, we show that the Breccia di Commenda eruption occurred in three main phases.After an opening, low-intensity ash emission phase (Phase 1), the eruption energy climaxed during Phase 2, when a series of violent explosions produced an asymmetric shower of ballistic blocks and the contemporaneous emplacement of highly dispersed, lithic-rich, blast-like pyroclastic density currents (PDCs). The tephra units emplaced during Phase 2, ranging in volume from 0.2 to 2.7  10 5 m 3 , were covered in turn by thin ash fall deposits (Phase 3). The dynamics of the most violent and intense stage of the eruption (Phase 2) was investigated by numerical simulations. A threedimensional numerical model was applied, describing the eruptive mixture as a Eulerian-Eulerian, two-phase, non-equilibrium gas-particle fluid (plus a one-way coupled Lagrangian ballistic block fraction). At the initial simulation time, a mass of about 10 9 kg, with initial overpressure above 10 MPa, and a temperature of 250°C, was suddenly ejected from a 200-m-long, eastward inclined, NNE-SSW trending fissure. The mass release formed blast-like PDCs on both sides of the fissure and launched ballistic blocks eastwards. Field investigations and numerical simulations confirm that hydrothermal explosions at La Fossa cone includes intense ballistic fallout of blocks, emission of PDCs potentially travelling beyond the La Fossa caldera, and significant ash fallout. The hazard associated with both ballistic impact and PDC ingress, as associated with hydrothermal eruption, is significantly larger with respect to that associated with Vulcanian-type events of La Fossa.

show abstract

Saints and Sinners: a tephrochronology for Late Antique landscape change in Epirus from the eruptive history of Lipari, Aeolian Islands

Cited by 15 publications

References 16 publications

Human–climate interactions in the central Mediterranean region during the last millennia: The laminated record of Lake Butrint (Albania)

Human–climate interactions in the central Mediterranean region during the last millennia: The laminated record of Lake Butrint (Albania)

Defining the potential source region of volcanic ash in northwest Europe during the Mid- to Late Holocene

Dynamics of shallow hydrothermal eruptions: new insights from Vulcano’s Breccia di Commenda eruption

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About