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Abstract: The bay of Malfatano Cape is the berthing home to one of the most important maritime structures from the Punic-Roman times in the Mediterranean. Two opposing monumental structures have been preserved between −7 and −2 m due to rising sea level. Recent studies have identified the paleo-sea level, relating the eustatic component to the glacio-hydroisostatic deformations. This paper, through stratigraphic, palaeontological, and geochronological data, aims to trace the bay of Capo Malfatano's evolution in relation to the sea level rise during the last 4 kys. Based on data derived from geophysical surveys, paleoshore lines have been redrawn and compared with data derived from coring in the inner part of the creek. Finally, we evaluated the relationship between changes in palaeogeography and human settlements from the Bronze Age. The breakwaters have been surveyed in detail using D-GPS techniques correlated to the geodesic 0 level. Through this data, the shape of the breakwaters has been reconsidered and, consequently, the palaeo sea level has been re-evaluated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper highlights results of a multidisciplinary and multi-analytical study of Holocene archaeological soils around Cecita Lake (Sila massif, Calabria, southern Italy), which represents a typical upland Mediterranean environment. It is focused on assessment of climatic and environmental changes that took place since late Neolithic to Roman times, trying to discriminate natural from anthropogenic signals. Based on an integration of archaeological, geomorphological, stratigraphic, pedological, volcanological and soil charcoal (pedoanthracological) data, the following paleoclimatic/environmental reconstruction is proposed: a warm and humid, seasonally contrasted climate, with an overall geomorphological stability suited for soil development, characterized the late prehistoric environment (Holocene climatic optimum), dominated by a widespread oak forest. The main pedogenetic processes consisted in organic matter accumulation, clay illuviation, phyllosilicate and short-range order mineral neogenesis from weathering of granite and volcanic ash, sourced from late Pleistocene–Holocene eruptions of the Aeolian Islands. One or more mid-Holocene episodes of climate deterioration towards drier conditions (indicated by a decrease of clay translocation processes and possible irreversible dehydration of poorly-crystalline aluminosilicates into phyllosilicate clay minerals) promoted intense land degradation. This was in turn enhanced by increasing human activities for settlement and resource exploitation (among which deforestation and ploughing for agriculture), which led to a shift of the vegetation cover towards a dominant pine forest between 3 ka BP and the Roman epoch. Humid and possibly cooler climatic conditions during the late Holocene are indicated by the decrease of clay illuviation, coupled with short-range order components prevailing over phyllosilicate clays during Roman soil formation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]