Nathalie Carcaud

Palaeogeographical reconstruction and management challenges of an archaeological site listed by UNESCO: the case of the Letoon shrine in the Xanthos Plain (Turkey)

Palaeogeographical reconstruction and management challenges of an archaeological site listed by UNESCO: the case of the Letoon shrine in the Xanthos Plain (Turkey) During the Hellenistic period, Xanthos and Letoon were respectively a large city and an important shrine in Lycia. Questions still remain about the geography of the Eşen Çayı delta during the first millennium BC: what were the features of the landscape surrounding the Letoon shrine? Where did the riverbed lie? Our analysis is based on a reconstruction of the geomorphological dynamics at work during the Holocene. These are then compared with historical, archaeological and literary sources. Sedimentary sampling shows that a marine bay was gradually closed during the formation of a coastline spit, which led to the development of a lagoon system. Lagoons and marshes remained predominant characteristics of the plain over a long period. A branch or a former channel of the Eşen Çayı was discovered close to the Letoon shrine. In recent decades, authorities, as well as UNESCO, are now making an effort to manage palaeoenvironmental reconstructions in their promotion of the tourist potential of archaeological sites. We propose a management project for the Letoon site.

Another Loire: The armorican Loire

Over part of its course, the river Loire today presents an archetypal landscape. This is the royal river, with vineyards and châteaux listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 2000. In this chapter it is demonstrated that the river presents other landscapes of interest, notably those of the Armorican Loire. This downstream section of the river made of river landscapes is characterised by the geomorphological constraints of the morphostructural system of the Armorican Massif. The valley, quite narrow, is bordered by hillsides, which sometimes forms steep slopes. The hydrosystem consists of a patchwork of geomorphic compartments (valleys, islands, multiple branches of the river, etc.). The promontories, which punctuate the river Loire, allow for remarkable oblique viewpoints which are still little known. The landscape of the Armorican Loire is also a lived space with diverse social uses around the river, which has progressively acquired heritage recognition. It is nevertheless important to avoid the phenomenon of heritage face.