Archaeological remains are valuable relative sea-level (RSL) indicators in Israel, a tectonically stable coast with minor isostatic inputs. Previous research has used archaeological indicators to argue for centennial sea-level fluctuations. Here, we place archaeological indicators in a quality-controlled dataset where all indicators have consistently calculated vertical and chronological uncertainties, and we subject the data to statistical analysis. We combine the archaeological data with bio-construction data from Dendropoma petraeum colonial vermetids. The final dataset consists of 99 relative sea-level index points and 12 limiting points from the last 4000 a. The temporal distribution of the index points is uneven; Israel has only four index points before 2000 a BP. We apply an Errors-In-Variables Integrated Gaussian Process (EIV IGP) to the index points to model the evolution of RSL. Results show RSL in Israel rose from À0.8 ± 0.5 m at~2750 a BP (Iron Age) to 0.0 ± 0.1 m by~1850 a BP (Roman period) at 0.8 mm/a, and continued rising to 0.1 ± 0.1 m until~1600 a BP (Byzantine Period). RSL then fell to À0.3 ± 0.1 m by 0.5 mm/a until~650 a BP (Late Arab period), before returning to present levels at a rate of 0.4 mm/a. The reassessed Israeli record supports centennial-scale RSL fluctuations during the last 3000 a BP, although the magnitude of the RSL fall during the last 2000 a BP is 50% less. The new Israel RSL record demonstrates correspondence with regional climate proxies. This quality-controlled Israeli RSL dataset can serve as a reference for comparisons with other sea-level records from the Eastern Mediterranean.

This paper re‐evaluates previous records and adds new data to the relative sea level (RSL; namely the sea level related to the level of the national terrestrial datum) reconstruction in Israel from the last 2400 years based on ancient coastal water wells. Different methods for obtaining the most accurate modern offset between coastal groundwater level and mean sea level are also tested, since this is a crucial component for using wells as reliable sea‐level indicators in the Mediterranean and beyond. Very few, if any, sea‐level studies outside of Israel use coastal wells as RSL indicators; refinements to the methods associated with this indicator type will facilitate their use in other regions. Coastal wells in the study are located within 200 m of the present‐day coastline. The functional age range for the wells is based on site stratigraphy, artifacts, historical records, and the coastal water well typology. These archaeological indicators rely on finding the vertical offset between present‐day coastal groundwater and sea level, and applying it to ancient times. The current study explores two methods to calculate accurate vertical offsets: a) modern averages of the upper aquifer groundwater elevation in the vicinity of ancient wells, which are calculated from 60 years of measurements by the Israeli Hydrological Service; and b) a hydrological model where groundwater elevation is a function of distance from the modern coastline. The model uses a simulation of the coastal aquifer with a two‐dimensional, vertical cross‐section. The modeled approach is found to be preferable. The results show that sea level in Roman times (1st century CE) was similar to present‐day, slightly higher in the Byzantine period (4th to 7th centuries CE), and lower in part of the Early Islamic period (9th to 10th centuries CE). For the later Fatimid/Ayyubid and Crusader periods (11th to 13th centuries CE), RSL reaches its lowest elevations (of about −0.5 m) as previously found. Following these low levels, sea level rose going into the 18th and 19th centuries CE.

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The endemic Mediterranean reef building vermetid gastropods Dendropoma petraeum complex (Dendropoma spp) and Vermetus triquetrus develop bio-constructions (rims) on rocky shorelines at about Mean Sea Level (MSL) and are therefore commonly used as relative sealevel (RSL) markers. In this study, we use elevations and age data of vermetid reefs to (1) reassess the vertical uncertainties of these biological RSL indicators, and (2) evaluate the vertical growth rates along a Mediterranean east-west transect, in attempt to explain the differences found in both growth rates and uncertainties. In Israel, Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) and laser measurements relative to the local datum show that the reef surfaces mainly occupy the upper intertidal zone with variations in elevation from +0.51±0.07 m to +0.13±0.05 m along the coast. However, in specific sites the vertical uncertainty exceeds the tidal range. In some places the local vermetid species D. anguliferum and V. triquetrus appear to alternate along the vertical rim profiles. This study documents a spatial variability of vertical growth rates, ranging from ~1 mm yr -1 in Israel and Crete, to ~0.1-0.2 mm yr -1 in NW Sicily and Spain.The order of magnitude of the difference in growth rates correlates with the east-west spatial thermal gradient of Sea-Surface Temperature (SST). Preferential skeleton deposition of D. petraeum and V. triquetrus measured by growth axis δ 18 O analysis shows that most calcification occurs at SST above the mean annual value. These findings indicate that vermetid reefs are a site-specific RSL indicator, displaying various vertical uncertainties and inner-structure complexities. Local data on the indicative range of vermetids are required when reconstructing relative sea-level changes using fossil vermetids. IntroductionGiven its mid-latitude position and very small tidal range, the Mediterranean is potentially a suitable area to reconstruct past sea-level changes with high precision and accuracy (e.g., Sivan et al., 2001;2004;Milne and Mitrovica, 2008). One of the tools used in the Mediterranean to reconstruct past relative sea-level (RSL) change is based on endemic bio-markers: the coralline rhodophyte, Lithophyllum byssoides (Lamarck) rims inhabiting the western and northern Mediterranean, and the sessile, aggregative, tube-building gastropods of the genus Dendropoma