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4 pages, 171 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Geoarchaeology: A Review of Case Studies in the Mediterranean Sea

by Vincenzo Amato

Geosciences 2021, 11(2), 42; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences11020042 - 22 Jan 2021

Viewed by 1753

Abstract

The term “geoarchaeology” was established within the last 50 years, although earlier applications of this field can be found [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geoarchaeology: A Review of Case Studies in the Mediterranean Sea)

Research

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28 pages, 6860 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Viticulture in the Laetanian Region (Spain) during the Roman Period: Predictive Modelling and Geomatic Analysis

by Lisa Stubert, Antoni Martín i Oliveras, Michael Märker, Harald Schernthanner and Sebastian Vogel

Geosciences 2020, 10(6), 206; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences10060206 - 29 May 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3422

Abstract

Geographic information system (GIS)-based predictive modelling is widely used in archaeology to identify suitable zones for ancient settlement locations and determine underlying factors of their distribution. In this study, we developed predictive models on Roman viticulture in the Laetanian Region (Hispania Citerior-Tarraconensis [...] Read more.

Geographic information system (GIS)-based predictive modelling is widely used in archaeology to identify suitable zones for ancient settlement locations and determine underlying factors of their distribution. In this study, we developed predictive models on Roman viticulture in the Laetanian Region (Hispania Citerior-Tarraconensis), using the location of 82 ancient wine-pressing facilities or torcularia as response variables and 15 topographical and 6 socio-economic cost distance datasets as predictor variables. Several predictor variable subsets were selected either by expert knowledge of similar studies or by using a semi-automatization algorithm based on statistical distribution metrics of the input data. The latter aims at simplifying modelling and minimizing the necessity of a priori knowledge. Both approaches predicted the distribution of archeological sites sufficiently well. However, the best prediction performance was obtained by an expert knowledge model utilizing a predictor variable combination based on recommendations on viticulture by Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella, the prominent ancient Roman agronomist. The results indicate that the accessibility of a location and its connectivity to trade routes and distribution centres, determined by terrain steepness, was decisive for the settlement of viticultural facilities. With the knowledge gained, the ancient cultivated area and number of wine-pressing facilities needed for processing the vineyard yields were extrapolated for the entire study region. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geoarchaeology: A Review of Case Studies in the Mediterranean Sea)

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30 pages, 7860 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Geological and Geomorphological Controls on the Path of an Intermountain Roman Road: The Case of the Via Herculia, Southern Italy

by Dario Gioia, Stefano Del Lungo, Annarita Sannazzaro and Maurizio Lazzari

Geosciences 2019, 9(9), 398; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences9090398 - 12 Sep 2019

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3412

Abstract

This work introduces the results of a geoarchaeological study about a large segment of a Roman road (i.e., Via Herculia, III and the beginning of IV century A.D.), which crossed the Lucanian segment of the southern Apennines (Italy). Classical approach of the [...] Read more.

This work introduces the results of a geoarchaeological study about a large segment of a Roman road (i.e., Via Herculia, III and the beginning of IV century A.D.), which crossed the Lucanian segment of the southern Apennines (Italy). Classical approach of the archaeological research based on the analysis of bibliographic, archival, literary, archaeological, and historical sources allowed us to infer the Roman road path, which is quite different from previous hypotheses. Geoarchaeological analysis is based on the detailed mapping of lithological and geomorphological features of the study area and has been primarily focused on a well-known segment of the Roman road from Filiano to the southern mountains of the Potenza city (Sasso di Castalda). Our results suggest that the choice of the road path has been driven by the outcrop of some deposits and the presence of specific geomorphological landforms, such as low-relief areas in mountain landscape. Then, the same approach was applied to a sector with controversial archaeological evidences (i.e., the Upper Agri river valley), where geological and geomorphological analyses support archaeological research in the reconstruction of the ancient path. This integrated approach can help archaeology to understand and then discover ancient road paths crossing complex and impervious landscapes such as the intramontane lands. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geoarchaeology: A Review of Case Studies in the Mediterranean Sea)

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23 pages, 13392 KiB

Open AccessArticle

New Estimation of the Post Little Ice Age Relative Sea Level Rise

by Vincenzo Pascucci, Gabriela Frulio and Stefano Andreucci

Geosciences 2019, 9(8), 348; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences9080348 - 9 Aug 2019

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4566

Abstract

The study area is located in NW Sardinia Island (Italy), Mediterranean Sea. Sardinia is considered stable since the late Pliocene with a negligible subsidence of about 0.01 mm/y. It is therefore normally used to reconstruct the Pleistocene and Holocene sea level curves. Our [...] Read more.

The study area is located in NW Sardinia Island (Italy), Mediterranean Sea. Sardinia is considered stable since the late Pliocene with a negligible subsidence of about 0.01 mm/y. It is therefore normally used to reconstruct the Pleistocene and Holocene sea level curves. Our research focusses on the sea-facing city of Alghero that from 1353 to 1720 was under the Spanish government. During this time, the city was renovated and new buildings edified. Dimension stones were quarried all around Alghero both in the nearby inland and along the coast. Coastal quarries were considered the most suitable for both rock quality and the easiest way to transport the quarried material by boat. The quarried rocks are late Pleistocene dune and beach sandstones deposited from the 132 ka (Marine Isotopic Stage—MIS5) to about 65 ka (MIS4). Sandstones crop out from few cm to 3 m above the present sea level and underwent several consolidation processes related to loading and marine weathering. This latter favoured dissolution and circulation of calcium carbonate which cemented the rocks. It is reported that the Spanish were looking for these “marine” sandstones for their high geotechnical characteristics. Different rules were adopted through time for the size of the dimension stones and this has allowed us to establish a quarry exploitation chronology. For example, “40 × 60 × 20” cm was the size of the dimension stones used for the Alghero Cathedral dated at 1505–1593. Nowadays most of the coastal Spanish quarry floors are 30 centimetres below mean sea level (tidal range is 30 cm). Accordingly, we infer that relative sea level from 1830 AD (and of the Little Ice Age) rose in about 200 years to the present level at the rate of about 1.4 mm/y. Considering that relative sea level rise during the Medieval warm period was of 0.6 mm/y over a period of about 400 years, we may deduce that human influence was strong enough to lead to a relative sea-level rise faster and in shorter time. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geoarchaeology: A Review of Case Studies in the Mediterranean Sea)

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25 pages, 10019 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of the Temple of Athena in Poseidonia-Paestum (Southern Italy): New Geomorphological, Geophysical and Archaeological Data

by Marilena Cozzolino, Fausto Longo, Natascia Pizzano, Maria Luigia Rizzo, Ottavia Voza and Vincenzo Amato

Geosciences 2019, 9(8), 324; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences9080324 - 24 Jul 2019

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 6455

Abstract

The Temple of Athena is one of the main sacred areas of the Greek–Roman settlement of Poseidonia-Paestum (southern Italy). Several archaeological excavations were carried out here between the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Unfortunately, the locations of these excavations are only approximately [...] Read more.

The Temple of Athena is one of the main sacred areas of the Greek–Roman settlement of Poseidonia-Paestum (southern Italy). Several archaeological excavations were carried out here between the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Unfortunately, the locations of these excavations are only approximately known, as are the geomorphology and stratigraphy of the temple area. A multidisciplinary study, including stratigraphic, geomorphological, archaeological, and sedimentological investigations, remote sensing, and electromagnetic and geoelectrical tests, was therefore carried out, shedding new light on the geomorphology and stratigraphy of the SW and W temple sectors. The geophysical data obtained revealed anomalies in the subsoil that probably correspond to ancient structures and the cutting of the travertine deposits around the temple. The position and extension of the trenches of the early archaeological excavations were also established. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geoarchaeology: A Review of Case Studies in the Mediterranean Sea)

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14 pages, 7146 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Microstratigraphic Records as Tools for the Detection of Climatic Changes in Tana di Badalucco Cave (Liguria, NW Italy)

by Eleonora Sessa, Ivano Rellini, Antonella Traverso, Irene Molinari, Giulio Montinari, Guido Rossi and Marco Firpo

Geosciences 2019, 9(6), 276; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences9060276 - 22 Jun 2019

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3055

Abstract

Tana di Badalucco cave is located in Imperia (Liguria, Italy), not far from the French border. This site is scarcely known and it has never been studied accurately, even though different archaeological excavations have returned really important elements, both in the archaeological and [...] Read more.

Tana di Badalucco cave is located in Imperia (Liguria, Italy), not far from the French border. This site is scarcely known and it has never been studied accurately, even though different archaeological excavations have returned really important elements, both in the archaeological and the paleoenvironmental aspects. Its stratigraphy ranges from Middle Paleolithic to Metal Ages, thus it has registered important climate and environmental variations specific to the Upper Pleistocene and Holocene. From 2012, the Soprintendenza Archeologia della Liguria, the Museo di Archeologia Ligure, and DiSTAV (University of Genova) have been collaborating in order to finally study this promising and complex stratigraphy, trying to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental context of the region. In this work, we present what we were able to assess thanks to the use of micromorphology, the study of undisturbed thin soil sections. This technique has proven useful in recognizing the alternating of cold and warmer conditions during the Quaternary, as well as in identifying primitive signs of human and animal occupation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geoarchaeology: A Review of Case Studies in the Mediterranean Sea)

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17 pages, 1971 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Geomorphological Evolution of the Sena Gallica Site in the Morpho-Evolutive Quaternary Context of the Northern-Marche Coastal Sector (Italy)

by Mauro De Donatis, Olivia Nesci, Daniele Savelli, Giulio F. Pappafico and Sara Susini

Geosciences 2019, 9(6), 272; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences9060272 - 21 Jun 2019

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3936

Abstract

The Sena Gallica Roman town was settled on the Adriatic coast in the 5th to 4th century BC. The choice of the site was largely influenced by the geomorphological and physiographic conditions near the Misa river mouth. The interactions among climate variation, river [...] Read more.

The Sena Gallica Roman town was settled on the Adriatic coast in the 5th to 4th century BC. The choice of the site was largely influenced by the geomorphological and physiographic conditions near the Misa river mouth. The interactions among climate variation, river dynamics, and marine oscillation determined the anthropic development. At the same time, the new settlement strongly influenced the evolution of this sector in both medieval and in recent times. This work aims to highlight the geological setting and geomorphological evolution of the Senigallia area within the Northern Marche region, taking into account the main scientific literature and new studies to propose a new interpretation of the Holocene history. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geoarchaeology: A Review of Case Studies in the Mediterranean Sea)

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24 pages, 21882 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

A Detailed Reconstruction of the Roman Landscape and the Submerged Archaeological Structure at “Castel dell’Ovo islet” (Naples, Southern Italy)

by Gerardo Pappone, Pietro P.C. Aucelli, Gaia Mattei, Francesco Peluso, Michele Stefanile and Armando Carola

Geosciences 2019, 9(4), 170; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences9040170 - 13 Apr 2019

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 4677

Abstract

In this paper, we present the results of a multidisciplinary study aimed to reconstruct the Roman coastal landscape between Pizzofalcone hill and Megaris islet—the area of the ancient Parthenope, the first settlement along the Naples coast. This coastal sector was surveyed by a [...] Read more.

In this paper, we present the results of a multidisciplinary study aimed to reconstruct the Roman coastal landscape between Pizzofalcone hill and Megaris islet—the area of the ancient Parthenope, the first settlement along the Naples coast. This coastal sector was surveyed by a team of specialized divers (archaeologists and geomorphologists) and by using an Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) equipped with acoustic and optical sensors. The indirect surveys provided a high-resolution dataset of morpho-acoustic and optical measurements, useful to obtain the geological, geomorphological and archaeological interpretations necessary to formulate hypotheses on the functionality of the complex submerged archaeological structure detected in the study area. In particular, the integration between the surveyed data, the high-resolution seafloor mapping and the previous knowledge deriving from the 1980s underwater research carried out by Centro Studi Subacquei, led us to interpret the submerged remains as a vivarium related to a 1st century BC Roman villa. Finally, by measuring the submersion of several channels and a well-preserved crepido, a relative sea level during the period of use at −2.2 m ± 0.2 m mean sea level (MSL) was deduced, in agreement with the previous geoarchaeological studies realized in the near coastal sectors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Geoarchaeology: A Review of Case Studies in the Mediterranean Sea)

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