Palaeoenvironmental records in Agios Georgios coastal zone and archaeological site Stelida (western Naxos, Cyclades, Greece), as climatic change indicators in Quaternary.

Citation:

Evelpidou N, Pavlopoulos K, Vassilopoulos A, Triantafyllou M, Vouvalidis K, Syrides G. Palaeoenvironmental records in Agios Georgios coastal zone and archaeological site Stelida (western Naxos, Cyclades, Greece), as climatic change indicators in Quaternary. In: 7th International Conference on Geomorphology. ; 2009.

Date Presented:

6-11 July

Abstract:

The study area of St. Georgios coastal zone is located at the W coast of Naxos, the largest island of Cycladic plateau. The city of Naxos, located approximately 2.5 km from St. Georgios, is believed to be inhabitant since the early Cycladic period 5000 years ago. Archaeological evidence from Mycenaean times indicate the presence of a port whose remains along with a coastal road are found today underwater to a depth of about 2 m.
In a distance of approximately 1.5 km from St. Georgios the archaeological site of the four temples of Yria, dedicated to god Dionysus, is situated. The first of the four temples is dating in the 8th century BC, while the last one in the 1st century AC. Moreover in Stelida area, adjacent to St. Georgios coastal zone, the existence of an ancient quarry is significant for the understanding of the palaeoenvironment of this area as well as the connection between these two archaeological sites.
For the purposes of this study detailed geomorphological mapping, micropaleontological, sedimentological and dating analyses of the late Holocene coastal zone were conducted. The study of sea-land interactions during Upper Holocene, in relation to the eustatic sea level oscillations, as well as the geomorphologic observations and analysis on deposited sediments, aims to reveal the palaeo-geographic evolution of the landscape and its impact on the archaeological sites.
To obtain information about the Holocene stratigraphy under the recent alluvial cover, four boreholes followed the detailed geomorphological mapping. The microfaunal (benthic foraminifera) analysis took place and ten samples of plants, shells, peat and charred material were also collected from several layers of the sedimentary sequence and were dated using AMS and conventional radiocarbon techniques providing temporal control of the sediments.
In this study the tracing of the palaeo-shorelines and sea level changes and their effect to the palaeo-environment in the western Naxos are attempted. Sea level rise along with sea-land interactions to the landscape evolution and the transgression of sea in 6144 BP have been verified.