Reconstructing mid-to-recent Holocene paleoenvironments in the vicinity of ancient Amarynthos (Euboea,Greece)     

Matthieu Ghilardi  Sylvian Fachard  Kosmas Pavlopoulos  David Psomiadis  Christopher Collana  Andrew Bicket 《Geodinamica Acta》2013,26(1-2):38-51

This article examines the shoreline evolution and human occupation in the vicinity of the important archeological site of Amarynthos (Euboea Island, Greece) over the last six millennia. Archeological evidence indicates a continuous occupation of the site from the Bronze Age to the Roman period and the site is well-known, thanks to the existence of a sanctuary dedicated to the goddess Artemis. Based on the study of four boreholes, a paleogeographic reconstruction of the coastal landscape is proposed. Facies were determined based on mollusc identification, and sedimentology based on grain-size measurements (hand sieving for the fraction above 2?mm and LASER technique for particles below 2?mm) and loss-on-ignition. In addition, a series of 12 AMS radiocarbon dates define a reliable chronostratigraphy. Results suggest the presence of a fully marine environment from the early Holocene to ca. 2600–2400?cal. BC, which developed into a brackish environment from ca. 2600–2400?cal. BC to ca. 750?cal. BC due to the deltaic progradation of the nearby stream (Sarandapotamos River). From ca. 750?cal. BC onward, coastal swamps prevailed in the study area. Human-environmental interaction is discussed and particular attention is paid to the paleolandscape configuration of Amarynthos.  相似文献