Palaeoenvironmental evolution of the ancient lagoon of Ostia Antica (Tiber delta, Italy)

Vittori, Cécile; Mazzini, Ilaria; Salomon, Ferréol; Goiran, Jean‐Philippe; Pannuzi, Simona; Rosa, Carlo; Pellegrino, Anna

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2014.06.017

Cited by 27 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Between the 6th and 2nd millennium bc , a coastal lagoon formed immediately to the east of where ancient Ostia was later founded; later, possibly due to a shift of the main channel of the Tiber River, this lagoon experienced considerable siltation. During the first part of the 1st millennium bc , it was again connected to the sea and only vanished in the 19th Century ad (Vittori et al ., ).…”

Section: Physical and Archaeological Settingmentioning

confidence: 97%

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River channel evolution and tsunami impacts recorded in local sedimentary archives – the ‘Fiume Morto’ at Ostia Antica (Tiber River, Italy)

et al. 2019

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Ostia, the ancient port of Rome at the mouth of the river Tiber (Italy), flourished until the 2nd Century ad, although massive siltation had already caused the abandonment of its lagoonal harbour in the 1st Century bc. In search of an alternative harbour site, geomorphological and geoarchaeological research was carried out in the ‘Fiume Morto’, an abandoned Tiber meander to the immediate north of the town. To reconstruct its complex development and evaluate the suitability of the river channel as a fluvial harbour, a transect perpendicular to the former river channel's flow axis was systematically explored by a new methodological approach combining electrical resistivity tomography, direct push‐electrical conductivity sensing and vibracores. Together with microfossil, mineralogical and geochemical analyses of sediment samples and 50 radiocarbon dates, in‐depth stratigraphic data support a detailed reconstruction of different Tiber channel generations. Results reveal a meander development closely related to distinct ‘cut and fill’ dynamics. Inactive river channels were repeatedly filled with lagoonal sediments, abruptly followed by phases of intense incision. Yet, the overall Fiume Morto channel structure remained stable and almost in situ over centuries, showing nearly no lateral changes since the southward shift of the Tiber River mouth in the first millennium bc. In the 1st Century bc, channel conditions favoured navigation and transportation of goods with large ships. Open‐water conditions, suitable for anchoring and landing activities, dominate from the 1st Century ad until 1557 ad, when the Fiume Morto meander was finally cut off and silted up within a short time. Within the fluvial deposits, sediments most likely related to tsunami inundations are preserved. These events occurred sometime before the 2nd Century bc, in the early 1st Century ad and in the 17th Century ad or later. Results are consistent with traces of tsunami influence found in Ostia's western lagoonal harbour.

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Section: Physical and Archaeological Settingmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Maps modified after Google Earth© (2017). of the main channel of the Tiber River, this lagoon experienced considerable siltation. During the first part of the 1st millennium BC, it was again connected to the sea and only vanished in the 19th Century AD (Vittori et al, 2015).…”

Section: Physical and Archaeological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

River channel evolution and tsunami impacts recorded in local sedimentary archives – the ‘Fiume Morto’ at Ostia Antica (Tiber River, Italy)

et al. 2019

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“…Paleoenvironmental data comes mainly from the littoral (Bellotti et al, 1995(Bellotti et al, , 2007C. Giraudi, 2004;Milli et al, 2013) or the lagoonal systems (Di Rita, Celant, & Magri, 2009;Bellotti et al, 2011;Carlo Giraudi, 2011;Vittori et al, 2015), or else from the harbor basins of Portus and Ostia (C. Giraudi, Tata, & Paroli, 2009;Goiran et al, 2010Goiran et al, , 2014Hadler et al, 2015), but little data available for the Tiber channel during the Holocene.…”

Section: Geological and Archaeological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…yr BP onward (Amorosi & Milli, 2001;Giraudi, 2004;Bellotti et al, 2007;Milli et al, 2013;Salomon, 2013) and is composed of the upper deltaic plain (paleolagoons area), the lower deltaic plain (beach ridges area), and the subaqueous deltaic plain (lobes and prodelta). Paleoenvironmental data come mainly from the littoral (Bellotti et al, 1995(Bellotti et al, , 2007Giraudi, 2004;Milli et al, 2013) or the lagoonal systems (Di Rita, Celant, & Magri, 2009;Bellotti et al, 2011;Giraudi, 2011;Vittori et al, 2015), or else from the harbor basins of Portus and Ostia (Giraudi, Tata, & Paroli, 2009;Goiran et al, 2010Goiran et al, , 2014Hadler et al, 2015), but few data are available for the Tiber channel during the Holocene.…”

Section: Geological and Archaeological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long‐Term Interactions between the Roman City of Ostia and Its Paleomeander, Tiber Delta, Italy

et al. 2016

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This study examines the long term interactions between the well-known Roman city of Ostia and a river meander. Located at the mouth of the Tiber River, Ostia was a major harbor city that connected Rome to the Mediterranean Sea. Based on aerial photography and boreholes analysis, the paleodynamics of the Fiume Morto's paleomeander are understood to be linked to the urban evolution of the city of Ostia. Four periods of evolution have been identified as a result of this interdisciplinary work: (1) the foundation of Ostia's urban center, in the 4 th -3 rd century BC, occurred when the meander already existed;(2) between the 4 th century BC and the 3 rd century AD, human/environmental interactions contributed to the compound growing of the meander which possibly eroded an important Roman road linking Ostia to Rome; (3) from the Imperial period until the meander was cut off in AD 1557-1562, the constricted meander channel at the apex led to the stability of the downstream river channel; (4) the cut off of the paleomeander was completed in 1562, leading to the filling of the paleochannel. These successive phases of channel evolution mark changing fluvial risks from the Roman period to today.

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“…Geological and hydrogeological setting: Ostia Antica (Rome, Italy) The ancient town of Ostia, founded by King Ancus Marius in the 7th century BC, was located around 26 km far from Rome on the left bank of the mouth of the Tiber River and near the paleolagoon formed during the Holocene and built up by the accumulation of sediments brought to the river. The close by salt marshes has been exploited since antiquity and saltworks continued until 1895: the ancient installations for salt production consisted of two distinct but connected basins [27]. The geomorphology around Ostia Antica differs from that during ancient (Roman) times because of numerous changes in the Tiber River course and related fluvial deposits [28].…”

Section: Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geophysical and geochemical techniques to assess the origin of rising damp of a Roman building (Ostia Antica archaeological site)

Cardarelli

Donno

Scatigno

et al. 2016

Microchemical Journal

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Palaeoenvironmental evolution of the ancient lagoon of Ostia Antica (Tiber delta, Italy)

Cited by 27 publications

References 27 publications

River channel evolution and tsunami impacts recorded in local sedimentary archives – the ‘Fiume Morto’ at Ostia Antica (Tiber River, Italy)

River channel evolution and tsunami impacts recorded in local sedimentary archives – the ‘Fiume Morto’ at Ostia Antica (Tiber River, Italy)

Long‐Term Interactions between the Roman City of Ostia and Its Paleomeander, Tiber Delta, Italy

Geophysical and geochemical techniques to assess the origin of rising damp of a Roman building (Ostia Antica archaeological site)

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