High-resolution pollen analysis of a sediment core recovered from Paliouras lagoon (Greece) allowed us to reconstruct the environmental dynamics of the Halkidiki peninsula during the last 4000 years. Palynological results have been interpreted and compared with detailed historical data, showing distinct phases of human-landscape interactions from the Bronze Age until recent times. Pollen spectra revealed an environment characterized by Mediterranean vegetation, mixed deciduous forest, and pine stands from the Late Bronze Age until the 11th century CE. The first signs of human impact were attested during the Archaic period with the cultivation of Olea, Castanea, and Vitis in the inland of the study area. An intensive land management was highlighted by arboriculture and cereal cultivation (Secale and Hordeum group) in Roman times. Late Antique-Early Medieval times coincided with less human pressure due to warfare-related crises, leading to the expansion of the forest and the abandonment of fields colonized by Amaranthaceae. A massive increase in pastoral activities, suggested by the high percentages of Cichorieae during the Ottoman period, is possibly linked to the significant demographic growth of the nearby city of Thessaloniki in the 16th century CE.

This study provides a high-resolution reconstruction of the vegetation of the Argive Plain (Peloponnese, Greece) covering 5000 years from the Early Bronze Age onwards. The well dated pollen record from ancient Lake Lerna has been interpreted in the light of archaeological and historical sources, climatic data from the same core and other regional proxies. Our results demonstrate a significant degree of human impact on the environments of the Argive Plain throughout the study period. During the Early Bronze Age evidence of a thermophilous vegetation is seen in the pollen record, representing the mixed deciduous oak woodland of the Peloponnesian uplands. The plain was mainly used for the cultivation of cereals, whereas local fen conditions prevailed at the coring site. Towards the end of this period an increasing water table is recorded and the fen turns into a lake, despite more arid conditions. In the Late Bronze Age, the presence of important palatial centres modified the landscape resulting in decrease of mixed deciduous oak woodland and increase in open land, partly used for grazing. Possibly, the human management produced a permanent hydrological change at Lake Lerna. From the Archaic period onwards the increasing human pressure in association with local drier conditions caused landscape instability, as attested by a dramatic alluvial event recorded in the Pinus curve at the end of the Hellenistic Age. Wet conditions coincided with Roman times and favoured a forest regeneration pattern in the area, at the same time as we see the most intensive olive cultivation in the pollen record. The establishment of an economic landscape primarily based on pastures is recorded in the Byzantine period and continues until modern times. Overgrazing and fires in combination with arid conditions likely caused degradation of the vegetation into garrigue, as seen in the area of the Argive Plain today.

This paper aims to reconstruct the alluvial activity for the Lilas river, the second-largest catchment of Euboea Island (Central Western Aegean Sea), for approximately the last three and a half millennia. The middle reaches (Gides basin) exhibit several historical alluvial terraces that were first recognised in the 1980s but have remained poorly studied, resulting in uncertain chronological control of palaeofluvial activity. In order to reconstruct the past fluvial dynamics of the Lilas river, a ca. 2.5 m thick stratigraphic profile has been investigated for granulometry and magnetic parameters. Absolute dating of the sediments was possible by applying Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL). The results reveal: (i) two coarse-grained aggradational episodes dated from the Mycenaean/Early Iron Age and the Roman periods, respectively, (ii) a phase of rapid fine-grained vertical accretion corresponding to the Late Byzantine to early Venetian periods, (iii) potential evidence for final alluvial deposition from the Little Ice Age/Ottoman period, and (iv) two major incision episodes inferred from Ancient Greek times and most of the Byzantine period. Based on the published core material, the paper also evaluates the direct impacts of the Late Holocene alluviation recorded mid-stream on the fluvial system situated downstream in the deltaic area. Sediment sourcing is attempted based on the magnetic properties of the catchment lithology and of alluvium collected upstream along the main stream bed. Finally, the present paper discusses the possible links between Late Holocene hydroclimatic oscillations and the aggradational/incision phases revealed in the Gides basin. Correlations are attempted with regional palaeoclimate records obtained for the Aegean. In addition to climatic variability, anthropogenic factors are considered: specific land use for agricultural purposes, in particular during the Mycenaean period, the Roman and the Late Byzantine/Early Venetian periods, might have enhanced sediment deposition. Archaeological information and pollen records were also evaluated to reconstruct regional land-use patterns and possible impacts on soil accumulation over the last 3.5 millennia.

In this study, we present the findings of a sediment core retrieved from Klisova lagoon, Western Greece, an area with a long record of documented human presence. The recovered deposits were subjected to sedimentological, XRF, and micropaleontological analyses. For the last 4700 cal BP, the freshwater influx, the progradation of the Evinos river delta and related geomorphological changes control the environmental conditions in the lagoon. Considering the centennial temporal resolution of our analyses, small offsets of c.a. 50?years due to lack of regional reservoir correction do not considerably impact the reported radiocarbon ages. Prior to 4000 cal BP, a relatively shallow water depth, significant terrestrial/freshwater input and increased weathering in the lagoon area are inferred. Elemental proxies and increased dinoflagellate cyst and foraminiferal abundances, which indicate marine conditions with prominent freshwater influxes, point to the gradual deepening of the lagoon up to 2000 cal BP. The marine and freshwater condition equilibrium sets at 1300 cal BP, with the lagoonal system reaching its present state. Maxima of anthropogenic pollen indicators during the Mycenaean (3200 cal BP), Hellenistic (2200 cal BP), and Late Byzantine (800 cal BP) periods suggest intervals of increased anthropogenic activities in the area.

The Black Death (1347–1352 ce) is the most renowned pandemic in human history, believed by many to have killed half of Europe’s population. However, despite advances in ancient DNA research that conclusively identified the pandemic’s causative agent (bacterium Yersinia pestis), our knowledge of the Black Death remains limited, based primarily on qualitative remarks in medieval written sources available for some areas of Western Europe. Here, we remedy this situation by applying a pioneering new approach, ‘big data palaeoecology’, which, starting from palynological data, evaluates the scale of the Black Death’s mortality on a regional scale across Europe. We collected pollen data on landscape change from 261 radiocarbon-dated coring sites (lakes and wetlands) located across 19 modern-day European countries. We used two independent methods of analysis to evaluate whether the changes we see in the landscape at the time of the Black Death agree with the hypothesis that a large portion of the population, upwards of half, died within a few years in the 21 historical regions we studied. While we can confirm that the Black Death had a devastating impact in some regions, we found that it had negligible or no impact in others. These inter-regional differences in the Black Death’s mortality across Europe demonstrate the significance of cultural, ecological, economic, societal and climatic factors that mediated the dissemination and impact of the disease. The complex interplay of these factors, along with the historical ecology of plague, should be a focus of future research on historical pandemics.

The pyroclastic rocks of the Lesvos Petrified Forest in the North Aegean comprise one of the early Miocene's most imposing megaflora assemblage. In this area, the new outcrop of Akrocheiras yielded numerous leaf compressions. Based on their macroscopic characteristics, we identified a total of sixteen different taxa, most of them of palaeotropical origin. Dominant species are Daphnogene polymorpha, Pungiphyllum cruciatum and Phoenicites sp., represented by more than 50% of the specimens. Several taxa are new for the Neogene palaeobotanical record of Lesvos Island, such as Laurophyllum sp. 1, Smilax weberi, Celtis japeti, div. Juglandaceae, Ilex miodipyrena, cf. Ilex sp. and Apocynophyllum sp., and provide new floristic data for the area. According to the vegetation analysis, the plant assemblage of Akrocheiras site assigned to lowland/riparian and mesophytic forests on well drained soils. The palaeoclimatic analysis for the new flora revealed a humid warm-temperate climate with seasonal alternations from wetter to drier conditions. The floristic characteristics are outlined, and the record is compared to other ones of the early Miocene period.