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Via. E. Arborea, 07024, La Maddalena, Olbia-Tempio, Italy
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- PublicationRestrictedMillstone coastal quarries of the Mediterranean: A new class of sea level indicator(2014)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;Lo Presti, V.; Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e del Mare, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Italy ;Antonioli, F.; ENEA ;Auriemma, R.; Dipartimento di Beni Culturali, Università del Salento, Italy ;Ronchitelli, A.; Università di Siena, Italy ;Scicchitano, G.; Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche ed Ambientali, Università di Catania, Italy ;Spampinato, C.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Catania, Catania, Italia ;Anzidei, M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia ;Agizza, S.; Via Riviera di Chiaia 215, 80123 Napoli, Italy ;Benini, A.; Università della Calabria, Dipartimento di Archeologia e Storia delle Arti, Rende, CS, Italy ;Ferranti, A.; Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell’Ambiente e delle Risorse, Università di Napoli “Federico II”, Italy ;Gasparo Morticelli, G.; Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e del Mare, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Italy ;Giarrusso, C.; Via Arborea 17, 07100 Sassari, Italy ;Mastronuzzi, G.; mDipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geoambientale, Università degli Studi ‘‘Aldo Moro’’, Bari, Italy ;Monaco, C.; Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche ed Ambientali, Università di Catania, Italy ;Porqueddu, A.; Via. E. Arborea, 07024, La Maddalena, Olbia-Tempio, Italy; ;; ; ;; ; ; ;; ; ; ; ; The coasts of Italy still preserve several remnants of coastal quarries built in antiquity, that now provide insights into the intervening sea-level changes occurred during the last millennia. In this paper, we show and discuss a new class of sea level indicator consisting of millstones carved along the rocky coast of southern Italy since 2500 BP, that are currently submerged. They were extracted from beachrocks, sandstones or similar sedimentary rocks, easier for carving by ancient carving tools. Our study focuses on 10 coastal sites located at Capo d’Orlando, Avola, and Letojanni, in Sicily; Soverato, Tropea, and Capo dell’Armi, in Calabria; Castellabate, Palinuro, and Scario, in Campania; and Polignano San Vito, in Apulia. Unfortunately, only limited archaeological information is available for these anthropic structures. Scario, one of these millstone quarries discussed here, has been dated through independent archaeological remains, allowing us to restrict the exploitation age to the end of XVII century. Present day elevations of these coastal sites were obtained through geo-archaeological surveys calibrated using the nearest tidal stations, together with geomorphological and tectonic interpretations. Data were compared against the latest sea level predictions based on glacio-hydro-isostatic models. Our results allow proposal of the age-range of these millstone quarries and to estimate the intervening relative sea level changes since the time when they were carved.327 84 - PublicationOpen AccessPreservation of Modern and MIS 5.5 Erosional Landforms and Biological Structures as Sea Level Markers: A Matter of Luck?(2021)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;The Mediterranean Basin is characterized by a significant variability in tectonic behaviour, ranging from subsidence to uplifting. However, those coastal areas considered to be tectonically stable show coastal landforms at elevations consistent with eustatic and isostatic sea level change models. In particular, geomorphological indicators—such as tidal notches or shore platforms—are often used to define the tectonic stability of the Mediterranean coasts. We present the results of swim surveys in nine rocky coastal sectors in the central Mediterranean Sea using the Geoswim approach. The entire route was covered in 22 days for a total distance of 158.5 km. All surveyed sites are considered to have been tectonically stable since the last interglacial (Marine Isotope Stage 5.5 [MIS 5.5]), because related sea level markers fit well with sea level rise models. The analysis of visual observations and punctual measurements highlighted that, with respect to the total length of surveyed coast, the occurrence of tidal notches, shore platforms, and other indicators accounts for 85% of the modern coastline, and only 1% of the MIS 5.5 equivalent. Therefore, only 1% of the surveyed coast showed the presence of fossil markers of paleo sea levels above the datum. This significant difference is mainly attributable to erosion processes that did not allow the preservation of the geomorphic evidence of past sea level stands. In the end, our research method showed that the feasibility of applying such markers to define long-term tectonic behaviour is much higher in areas where pre-modern indicators have not been erased, such as at sites with hard bedrock previously covered by post-MIS 5.5 continental deposits, e.g., Sardinia, the Egadi Islands, Ansedonia, Gaeta, and Circeo. In general, the chances of finding such preserved indicators are very low.68 13