Environmental Evolution of the Marsala Sound, Sicily, during the Last 6000 Years

Basso, Daniela; Bernasconi, Maria Pia; Robba, Elio; Marozzo, Stefania

doi:10.2112/05-0619.1

Cited by 16 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…In the samples better diversified (>3 species), the molluscs Alvania lineata, Bittium reticulatum, and As a whole, the molluscan assemblages record four phases in the environmental evolution of the northern port basin (Figure 3), from bottom to top: 1) From 13 to ~9.5 m in core depth, the assemblages are relatively well diversified, dominated by taxa related to the AP and HP biocoenoses: among these, A. lineata, B. reticulatum, and the Pusillina group are the best represented, attaining a cumulative dominance value of at least 60% in the samples included in this core section. They are accompanied by other species usually living in the leaf stratum of the phanerogams, such as Cerithium vulgatum and Smaragdia viridis, exclusively recorded in this core section, and Tricolia pullus, Turbonacimex, and Venericardia antiquata (Basso et al, 2008). These data suggest a shallow marine environment characterised by a well-oxygenated sandy bottom, covered by an extensive vegetation.…”

Section: Facies Interpretationmentioning

confidence: 56%

Late Holocene palaeoenvironmental evolution of the northern harbour at the Elaiussa Sebaste archaeological site (south-eastern Turkey): evidence from core ELA6

Melis¹,

Bernasconi²,

Colizza³

et al. 2015

Turkish J Earth Sci

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The ancient site of Elaiussa Sebaste (SE coast of Turkey) was one of the main trading harbours of the Mediterranean, growing in the Augustan period and maintaining its prestige until the Byzantine era. The Arabic invasion that occurred in the second half of the 7th century AD marked its definitive abandonment. A very prominent historical topic concerns the palaeoenvironmental evolution of the northern and southern harbours of Elaiussa Sebaste, including their decline and burial. A wide interdisciplinary study plans to analyse 8 cores drilled in the modern plains, which correspond to the setting of the 2 harbours basins. This geoarchaeological investigation aims to provide a first model of the environmental evolution recorded in the northern port basin, obtained by means of litho-and biofacies analyses from one of the 8 cores (ELA6) that best represents a good reference-succession in order to interpret this evolution. It consists of sediments deposited in a timespan from the 2nd century BC to the 6th century AD, corresponding to the developments of the ancient town and its harbours. The geophysics evidences the depth of the bedrock and the overlaying deposits. Sedimentology, macropalaeontology, and micropalaeontology define a sequence of shallow marine palaeoenvironments, with clear influence of fresh water. The palynology focuses the attention on a short core-interval corresponding to the timespan of 150-190 AD approximately, when the human impact might have controlled this evolution by building and cultivating. A hypothetical scenario might link some natural events (i.e. the uplift of the area, the increase of the sedimentation rate) to the human impact. These causes may have resulted in the siltation of the harbour that finally ended all harbour-related activities. During the timespan of the 2nd century BC to the 4th century AD, the northern harbour of Elaiussa-Sebaste may represent a good test to apply the Ancient Harbour Parasequence.

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Section: Facies Interpretationmentioning

confidence: 56%

Late Holocene palaeoenvironmental evolution of the northern harbour at the Elaiussa Sebaste archaeological site (south-eastern Turkey): evidence from core ELA6

Melis¹,

Bernasconi²,

Colizza³

et al. 2015

Turkish J Earth Sci

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“…It is abundant in infralittoral algal habitats with Cystoseira in the Gulf of Trieste (Pitacco et al ., ) and in seagrass, algal and Cladocora habitats in the eastern Adriatic Sea (Šiletić, ). Gastropods over‐represented in death assemblages are of the genera Bittium (Basso & Corselli, ; Russo et al ., ; Albano & Sabelli, ) and Pusillina (Basso et al ., ), which also occur frequently in seagrass and algal assemblages in the Mediterranean Sea. Large, shell‐bed‐forming species are numerically less frequent than small and numerous bivalves ( G. minima ) and gastropods, but they also do not occur in living assemblages.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A decline in molluscan carbonate production driven by the loss of vegetated habitats encoded in the Holocene sedimentary record of the Gulf of Trieste

et al. 2018

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Carbonate sediments in non‐vegetated habitats on the north‐east Adriatic shelf are dominated by shells of molluscs. However, the rate of carbonate molluscan production prior to the 20th century eutrophication and overfishing on this and other shelves remains unknown because: (i) monitoring of ecosystems prior to the 20th century was scarce; and (ii) ecosystem history inferred from cores is masked by condensation and mixing. Here, based on geochronological dating of four bivalve species, carbonate production during the Holocene is assessed in the Gulf of Trieste, where algal and seagrass habitats underwent a major decline during the 20th century. Assemblages of sand‐dwelling Gouldia minima and opportunistic Corbula gibba are time‐averaged to >1000 years and Corbula gibba shells are older by >2000 years than shells of co‐occurring Gouldia minima . This age difference is driven by temporally disjunct production of two species coupled with decimetre‐scale mixing. Stratigraphic unmixing shows that Corbula gibba declined in abundance during the highstand phase and increased again during the 20th century. In contrast, one of the major contributors to carbonate sands – Gouldia minima – increased in abundance during the highstand phase, but declined to almost zero abundance over the past two centuries. Gouldia minima and herbivorous gastropods associated with macroalgae or seagrasses are abundant in the top‐core increments but are rarely alive. Although Gouldia minima is not limited to vegetated habitats, it is abundant in such habitats elsewhere in the Mediterranean Sea. This live–dead mismatch reflects the difference between highstand baseline communities (with soft‐bottom vegetated zones and hard‐bottom Arca beds) and present‐day oligophotic communities with organic‐loving species. Therefore, the decline in light penetration and the loss of vegetated habitats with high molluscan production traces back to the 19th century. More than 50% of the shells on the sea floor in the Gulf of Trieste reflect inactive production that was sourced by heterozoan carbonate factory in algal or seagrass habitats.

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“…The island was directly connected to the nearby coast by a stone causeway, starting at the northern gate of Mozia, which was submerged at roughly 1600BC (Basso et al, 2006) as a consequence of the relative sea-level changes affecting the whole area in the past 9000 years (Antonioli et al, 2002;Basso et al, 2006). The road and the surrounding sea area have been studied in detail through geophysical and archaeological investigations; the focus was to seek the road and nearby docks and related constructions (Ranieri et al, 2007;Benassi et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First Field Magnetometer Investigation at the Phoenician Island of Mozia (Trapani), Northwestern Sicily: Preliminary Results

Mauro

Alfonsi

Sapia

et al. 2011

Archaeological Prospection

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The island of Mozia represents a unique location for geophysical investigations applied to archaeological research. The presence of exposed structures and ongoing studies, run by the University 'La Sapienza' of Rome, allows a direct comparison of geophysical exploration data with the excavations results, giving an immediate control on the accuracy and robustness of the geophysical survey conducted. Four areas around the Kothon, a Phoenician artificial basin, have been investigated by means of magnetic methods; the purpose was to trace a semi-circular wall surrounding the structure of the basin. The geophysical results confirmed the presence of the wall, as postulated by the archaeological study, and indicated magnetic anomalies associated with previously unknown structures. Subsequent archaeological excavation confirmed these latter data. The magnetic signature of the topsoils and remains characterizing the area surveyed,was undoubtedly weak, even though the resulting anomalies maps were adequately clear and allowed the characterization of the archaeological structures in the area. Field and laboratory magnetic susceptibility measurements allowed better understanding of the data. The study confirmed that geomagnetic investigations can be used in weakly magnetic susceptibility environments, as in Mozia, and are productive if conducted in accordance with an archaeological agenda.

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Environmental Evolution of the Marsala Sound, Sicily, during the Last 6000 Years

Cited by 16 publications

References 8 publications

Late Holocene palaeoenvironmental evolution of the northern harbour at the Elaiussa Sebaste archaeological site (south-eastern Turkey): evidence from core ELA6

Late Holocene palaeoenvironmental evolution of the northern harbour at the Elaiussa Sebaste archaeological site (south-eastern Turkey): evidence from core ELA6

A decline in molluscan carbonate production driven by the loss of vegetated habitats encoded in the Holocene sedimentary record of the Gulf of Trieste

First Field Magnetometer Investigation at the Phoenician Island of Mozia (Trapani), Northwestern Sicily: Preliminary Results

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