Reconstructing mid-to-recent Holocene paleoenvironments in the vicinity of ancient Amarynthos (Euboea,Greece) |
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| Authors: | Matthieu Ghilardi Sylvian Fachard Kosmas Pavlopoulos David Psomiadis Christopher Collana Andrew Bicket |
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| Institution: | 1. CEREGE, UMR 7330 CNRS, Europ?le de l’Arbois, BP 80/13545, Aix-en-Provence CEDEX 04, France.ghilardi@cerege.fr;3. Swiss School of Archaeology in Greece, Skaramanga 4b, Athens, 10433, Greece.;4. Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World, Brown University, Box 1837/60 George Street, Providence, RI, 02912, USA.;5. Department of Geography, Harokopeio University of Athens, Eleftherios Venizelou Street 70, Kallithea, 176-71, Athens, Greece.;6. CEREGE, UMR 7330 CNRS, Europ?le de l’Arbois, BP 80/13545, Aix-en-Provence CEDEX 04, France.;7. Wessex Archaeology, Coastal &8. Marine, 7/9 North Saint David Street, EH2 1AW, Edinburgh, Scotland. |
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| Abstract: | 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. |
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| Keywords: | Euboea geoarcheology Holocene paleoenvironments shoreline reconstruction |
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