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Previous approaches to earthquakes in archaeology, characterizing the geoarchaeological subfield archaeoseismology, have focused on types of seismic destructions and anti-seismic constructions in architectural remains. A challenge often raised in archaeoseismology relates to issues of equifinality since other human or environmental factors can also cause the archaeoseismc types in question. Furthermore, geological markers of earthquakes are rarely identified directly, i.e., stratigraphically, with archaeoseismic evidence. To address these challenges, this paper offers a methodological innovation through the geoarchaeological subfield of soil micromorphology to investigate earthquakes in the form of seismically triggered soft sediment deformation structures (SSDS) in direct stratigraphic association with architecture. Applications to the case of Helike in Greece — infamous victim of a major earthquake in 373 BCE — reveal not only key evidence for three earthquake events in the form of seismically triggered SSDS but also other geological hazards, including flooding and rapid coastal change, in association with Hellenistic period (late fourth to second century BCE) architecture. The results offer advancements for archaeology and suggest that geoarchaeology and soil micromorphology applications become standard in archaeology, particularly archaeoseismology, for the identification and interpretation of earthquakes. These advancements offer new avenues for exploring geological aspects of the human past. • Innovations in archaeological soil micromorphology can identify seismic deformation. • Earthquakes deform archaeological soils and sediments. • Hydromorphic conditions amplify earthquake deformation in soils and sediments. • Mw 5 or greater earthquakes cause architectural destruction and sediment deformation. • Archaeoseismology and soil micromorphology are subfields of geoarchaeology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We provide the first detailed Relative Mean Sea-Level curve for the Northern Aegean. • We detected for the first time in this coastal area the Neolithic drowned landscapes. • Palaeogeographic reconstruction shows coastal progradation due to anthropic forcing. • Historical events appear to dominate the fate of the city over environmental factors. • We detected the impact of a tsunami in 544 AD in this part of the Thracian coast. This paper presents an integrated Geoarchaeological approach to Holocene landscape change and socio-environmental interaction around ancient Abdera, a Greek colony in Aegean Thrace. A combination of remote sensing, geomorphological mapping, sedimentary coring, and radiocarbon dating was used to build the first detailed Holocene sea-level curve in the Northern Aegean, and to reconstruct the palaeogeographic evolution around Abdera from the Neolithic onwards. The discussion of these results, alongside the available archaeo-historical data, sheds new light on the role of historical and environmental factors in the rise and eventual decline of Abdera, thereby challenging previous narratives. This study is the first to detect evidence of the Neolithic landscapes in this coastal area being submerged by marine transgression c. 5000 cal. BC. A lagoonal landscape developed from the Neolithic until Greek colonists settled in the area c. 654 BC. The results presented here suggest that the relocation of the city in the 4th century BC was not caused by the silting up of the bay but was due to historical events. The coastal progradation only became significant after 300 cal. BC and accelerated in the following centuries. Based on the data acquired, it is hypothesized that this was due to anthropogenic forcing of the sedimentary systems both at local and regional levels, caused by the development of the productive activities of the colony. The evidence presented here demonstrates that while Abdera retained good access to the sea, its decline in the 4th c. AD was certainly due to the gradual shift of the economic axis inland. By 400 cal. AD the coastline was very close to its current position. The results of this study also add to the catalogue of known tsunamis in the Northern Aegean, by providing new evidence of a tsunami on this section of the Thracian coast in 544 AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interest in earthquakes in Mediterranean archaeology has distinct disciplinary origins. Since the inception of archaeoseismology--earthquake archaeology--in the 1980s, approaches to earthquake factors have been characterized by reliance on ancient historical sources. However, although texts have supported the identification of earthquake disasters in material destruction, documentary records extend far beyond particular events and experiences of disaster; diverse cultural perceptions of earthquakes as expressed in ancient textual sources also offer an alternative interpretation for Mediterranean archaeology. This study reviews the materialgeological record of Helike in Greece--the victim of an infamous major earthquake in 373 bc--in order to assess the impact of seismic activity on the site from the third millennium bc to the fifth century ad. Evidence for such an impact includes archaeoseismic types of destruction, anti-seismic construction in architecture and stratigraphically associated soil micromorphological evidence of seismically triggered soft sediment deformation structures (SSDS). A reassessment of ancient accounts of the 373 bc event to explore Graeco-Roman cultural perceptions of earthquakes provides a new interpretive frame for the material-geological record of Helike. This alternative interpretation repositions earthquakes, traditionally perceived as 'natural' disasters implicated in 'collapse' and 'catastrophe', as social phenomena. The case of Helike demonstrates the value of documentary records for reframing the complex social and political dimensions of recurrent earthquakes and persistent geological hazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper deals with the palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the area surrounding the remnant arch of the ancient bridge of Klidhi, Thessaloniki Plain, Greece. 19th century travellers and 20th century historians discussed the age of the monument and concluded that it was built during Late Roman Times (3rd Cent. AD) and supported a branch of the Via Egnatia road. However, few studies have considered the environmental context of the construction of the bridge, and until now, only two hypotheses have been presented: The bridge was built on or over a junction of the Aliakmon and Loudias Rivers, or on a coastal barrier. Within the framework of a geoarchaeological project developed in April 2008, five boreholes were drilled and the sediment cores analysed for microfauna and sedimentology. Seven 14C AMS dates provided a chronostratigraphic sequence and helped to define the geomorphological evolution of the area. Spatial interpretation of the results was possible using a Landsat TM image (False Colour Composite – FCC). Our data indicate the gradual transition of the site from a marine to a terrestrial environment during Ancient Times. Lagoonal conditions dominated during the construction of the bridge and the presence of a palaeochannel of the Aliakmon River was later revealed (transition from Byzantine and Ottoman periods), overlying sediments of a coastal barrier. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper deals with Holocene coastal changes of the Astakos plain in Akarnania, NW Greece. Palaeoenvironmental scenarios are based on the analysis of the lateral and vertical distribution patterns of sedimentary facies. Sediments from vibracorings were studied using geomorphological, sedimentological, microfaunal, palaeobotanical and geochemical methods. A geochronostratigraphy was achieved by 14C-AMS-dating of organic matter. We present palaeogeographical maps for different points in time since the mid-Holocene. The evolution of the coastal area was generally controlled by the migration of a complex system of a shallow marine embayment, an adjacent lagoonal environment and an adjoining coastal lake forced by the interaction of sea level rise, tectonic movements, and sediment supply from the hinterland. The maximum transgression of the Ionian Sea took place at circa 5500cal BC reaching approx. 1.1km inland. The lagoon as well as the coastal lake had their largest dimensions around 4500cal BC indicating a more humid climatic period. In the course of a long-lasting regression, an asymmetric sedimentation pattern developed. Around 2500cal BC it was characterized by strong fluvial deposition of the Xeropotamos in the western plain and a small and narrow marine embayment with associated lagoonal to limnic coastal water bodies in the eastern plain. The latter were related to karstic springs draining the adjacent Rigani ridge. Around 500cal BC the coastline lay about 200m landward of its present position. Possible harbour sites for the ancient polis of Astakos are (a) the area of modern Astakos where a mole in a position seawards of the present coast would have guaranteed deep water conditions for anchoring, or (b) the southeastern fringe of the plain where deep water prevailed and the nearby freshwater outlet protected the site from rapid siltation. We found increased torrential activity (i) for the 6th–5th millennium BC, (ii) for the 2nd half of the 1st millennium BC until Roman times, and (iii) at the end of the 19th century AD. At least the two younger phases are mostly due to anthropogenic soil erosion. Between the 4th and the 2nd millennium BC a period of ecological stability existed. Relative changes in sea level for the Bay of Astakos were reconstructed for the first time. Since the mid-Holocene, the relative sea level has never reached a higher position than today. It rose from 12.50m b.s.l. at 6200cal BC via 2.20m b.s.l. at 500cal BC to its present level. Besides eustatic reasons, tectonic subsidence due to the half graben structure of the area is the main trigger of the relative rise in sea level. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Identifying the provenance of volcanic rocks can be essential for improving geological maps in the field of geology and providing a tool for the geochemical fingerprinting of ancient artifacts like millstones and anchors in the field of geoarchaeology. This study examines a new approach to this problem by using machine learning algorithms (MLAs). In order to discriminate the four active volcanic regions of the Hellenic Volcanic Arc (HVA) in Southern Greece, MLAs were trained with geochemical data of major elements, acquired from the GEOROC database, of the volcanic rocks of the Hellenic Volcanic Arc (HVA). Ten MLAs were trained with six variations of the same dataset of volcanic rock samples originating from the HVA. The experiments revealed that the Extreme Gradient Boost model achieved the best performance, reaching 93.07% accuracy. The model developed in the framework of this research was used to implement a cloud-based application which is publicly accessible at This application can be used to predict the provenance of a volcanic rock sample, within the area of the HVA, based on its geochemical composition, easily obtained by using the X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the landscape of Nea Raedestos Toumba in the Anthemous River valley in central Macedonia, Greece is undertaken using multidisciplinary geoarchaeological methods. The archaeological site is a settlement mound (tell or toumba) that dates to the Neolithic period and the Bronze Age. The tell's location on the alluvial plain prompted a multidisciplinary investigation to reconstruct the influence of landscape changes on prehistoric settlements in the valley with an emphasis on alluvial sequences. An electrical resistivity tomography survey and three cores were drilled to study the sedimentary environments in and around the archaeological site. Sedimentologic and palynological analysis combined with accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dating show that the oldest habitation layers at the site, from the Middle and Late Neolithic, were located next to a small, periodically drying water body surrounded by ruderal vegetation. Diatom analysis suggests that this water body was supplied by saline/brackish groundwater. The water body was open until the Early Bronze Age, when it was filled and buried by floodplain sediments. This flooding phase at Nea Raedestos likely occurred at the same time as an increase in fluvial aggradation in the neighboring Thessaloniki Plain, which is dated to the beginning of the third millennium BC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ash altar to Zeus, located on a peak of Mt. Lykaion (Greece), consists of a thick, anthropogenic deposit that formed as a result of repeated deposition of burnt offerings. Excavations conducted from 2007 to 2010 uncovered evidence of a long history of use of the mountain summit as a purely ritual locality. Micromorphological analyses of sediment from the southern area of the altar confirm that a majority of the sedimentary components are microscopic artifacts sourced from combustion activities. The basal units comprise the remnants of a thin soil which contains inclusions of charcoal, burned bone, and fat-derived char and is associated with Mycenaean (sixteenth-twelfth centuries BC) materials. Ritual burning activities in the southern area peaked in the Protogeometric through Classical periods (tenth-fourth centuries BC), with intensive burning associated with the practice of thysia (ritual sacrifice) yielding a deposit in which the <2 mm particle size fraction is composed almost entirely of burned bone, wood ashes, charcoal, and other charred materials. Both the basal and uppermost portions of the sequence were impacted by decalcification, which resulted in the dissolution of ashes and surficial weathering of rock fragments. Postdepositional bioturbation also contributed to the observed distribution of archaeological materials within the feature. The geoarchaeological analyses suggest that similar types of burning activities were conducted in Mycenaean and later times. This finding is relevant to hypothesized continuity of cult between the Bronze and Iron Ages and makes Mt. Lykaion one of the very few sites in the entire Greek world where ritual continuity can be demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Basin of Phlious in southern Greece is known for its thick colluvial and alluvial deposits from the Holocene. It offers a good opportunity to reconstruct the history of Holocene soil erosion and its interaction with historical farming activities. In this study, we present new results based on optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating from the Basin of Phlious. The comparison between OSL and 14C AMS ages shows good agreement, and demonstrates the need for the detection of insufficiently bleached OSL samples in order to obtain accurate results. The discovery of a Neolithic site, buried under thick alluvial deposits, confirms the hitherto postulated Neolithic human impact on the landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]