Stanley E. Aschenbrenner

Paleogeographic Reconstructions of Coastal Aegean Archaeological Sites

Many studies have been made of ancient Greek topography, some of the more recent ones based on modern techniques. However, most still ignore the subsurface dimension of coastal and other environments and hence fail to fully explain coastal and alluvial-colluvial processes, rates of change of geomorphology, and the effects of coastal change on humans. In this article subsurface geological analyses have been used to elucidate paleogeographic coastal settings of major archaeological sites around the Aegean Sea. Similar approaches could be applied in the Middle and Far East and elsewhere in the Mediterranean.

Late Holocene Paleogeography of the Coastal Plain of the Gulf of Messenia, Greece, and Its Relationships to Archaeological Settings and Coastal Change

The coastal plain of the Pamisos River and five associated rivers at the head of the Gulf of Messenia in the southwestern Peloponnese includes middle through upper Holocene sedimentary-environment lithosomes of alluvial flood-plain deposits, channel sand, braided streams and deltas, bank swamps and marshes, dune fields, minor lagoons, beach-accretion ridges, and shallow-marine sediment. The areal distribution of these environments is in balance between the sediment supplied by the alluvial systems and their modification by coastal wave action. Questions remain about the importance of tectonic uplift and downwarp relative to sediment input and changes in eustatic sea level. Radiocarbon and pottery dates, drill cores, outcrops, and environmental studies have provided information for the development of a synthesis of paleogeographic change and its relationship to archaeological remains from the Neolithic period (middle Holocene) to the present. Examples include (1) a marine embayment extended into the area of the present Pamisos River flood plain near the town of Messini in middle late Holocene (Neolithic-Helladic) time, (2) rounded hills flanking the low-lying Karya River coastal plain were wave-cut cliffs in pre-Roman time, (3) the lower Karya River valley, now occupied by a braided stream, was a swampy lagoonal area, (4) major Early Helladic buildings at Akovitika were constructed along a shoreline, whereas the site is now surrounded by backswamp, and (5) the post-Roman delta–coastal plain of the Tsana River is now undergoing intense erosion. These types of paleogeographic analyses may prove of use to archaeologists in understanding the reasons for selection of habitation sites. They may also assist the modern occupants of the coastal area in coastal planning and in understanding rates and nature of coastal change at the head of the Messenian embayment.

Late Holocene palaeogeomorphic reconstructions in the area of the Bay of Navarino: Sandy Pylos

Numerous archaeological sites dot the environs of the marine embayment at Navarino in the southwest Peloponnese. This paper presents palaeogeomorphic reconstructions necessary for the understanding of the late bronze age palace complex (“Nestors Palace”) excavated by Blegen and provides a necessary topographic framework for the interpretation of human occupancy of the region during the last three millennia BC. Palaeoenvironmental data show that the epithet “Sandy Pylos” of Homers Iliad, can be readily explained and justifiably attributed to this region. The pollen data presented appear to correlate well with the transgression-regression sequences developed from the geological information from subsurface boreholes.

Trace-Element Fingerprinting as a Guide to the Geographic Sources of Native Copper

Trace-element analyses of native copper from specific geological deposits can be used to determine locality “fingerprints” (population parameters) which, in turn, can be used with discriminant analysis to assign probable provenance to the raw material source for copper artifacts. A comprehensive analytical program has been underway for over a decade to provide trace-element fingerprint data for native copper deposits throughout the world. Results indicate that delineations can be made among geographic regions and between areas or mines within a region. This paper is based on 309 analyses of the concentrations in North American native copper and copper artifacts.

Paleogeographic Reconstructions in the Methoni Embayment in Greece

AbstractSurface and subsurface geologic reconstructions of coastal change may be clearly correlated with the historical and archaeological records. However, paleogeographic reconstructions of coastal geographies in prehistoric times have long been in doubt. This paper presents a technique for interdisciplinary research linking the archaeological record with the geological record and geological processes. The combination results in fairly precise paleogeographic determinations in the SW Peloponnese of Greece.