Anthropology

The easily accessible aeolianite sandstone ridges along the Southern Levantine coast have long provided a convenient source of stone. Widespread coastal evidence for use of this sandstone, known locally as 'kurkar' rock, is demonstrated by its utilization for the building of homes and public structures dating back to the Neolithic. These activities reached their peak during the Roman and Byzantine periods, as attested by the 6th century CE coaster shipwreck, Dor 2001/1, which sank laden with recently quarried building stones in the Tantura lagoon near Tel Dor.

Here we present new evidence found underwater at Dor for the maritime transport of quarried stone along the Levantine coast, and related harbor infrastructure. A concentration of newly hewn stones has been documented resting on the seafloor, inside the Dor harbor basin. This deposit likely originated from an overturned barge used to ferry the stones. In addition to this a mooring installation, which may have been used by such barges and other vessels, was also excavated within the same harbor. These new data point to the extensive framework within which the complex enterprises of quarrying, transport, supply, use, and re-use of stone successfully operated along the Levantine coast.

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically disrupted international archaeological collaboration throughout the world, forcing numerous expeditions to cancel excavation seasons. While other intellectual collaborations continue using various tools, the option for remote collaboration in the field of archaeology is far more limited as there is no real replacement for hands-on fieldwork. Despite this obstacle, researchers from UCSD and UH have come together, taking the full advantage of the available technological possibilities in order to bring fieldwork, located in the Carmel coast, halfway across the world to the laboratories of UCSD. University of Haifa students heading to the site Excavating, collecting artifacts and samples for analyses Recording and live-streaming data from underwater in real time using Gopro cams The data collected daily was sent from UH to UCSD and processed there producing digital tools for the aid of the excavators in the field, such as 3D models of the site, day-by-day interactive top-plans in ArcGIS Pro, and analyses of the divers' movement in the water. The UH team sent photos, drawings, and 3D scans of unique artifacts to be 3D printed and examined in UCSD within hours. Such innovative real-time collaboration is the first that we know of during archaeological excavations. It is far from optimal, but it opens the door for new exciting possibilities in the field. A 3D model of artifacts were prepared at UH using an HP SLS Pro 3D scanner and sent to UCSD Staff meetings were held daily via Zoom and contact in the field was kept via other messaging platforms The copy (bottom) of the original (top) was printed in UCSD using a Prusa i3 MK2

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically disrupted international archaeological collaboration throughout the world, forcing numerous expeditions to cancel excavation seasons. While other intellectual collaborations continue using various tools, the option for remote collaboration in the field of archaeology is far more limited as there is no real replacement for hands-on fieldwork. Despite this obstacle, researchers from the University of California San Diego (USA)  and University of Haifa (Israel) have come together, taking the full advantage of the available technological possibilities in order to bring fieldwork, located in the Carmel coast, halfway across the world to the laboratories of UC San Diego Qualcomm Institute and Scrips Center of Marine Archaeolgy. University of Haifa faculty and students heading to the site excavating, collecting artifacts and samples for analyses recording and live-streaming data from underwater in real time using Gopro and 35 mm high definition cameras.  The data collected daily in Israel was uploaded from the University of Haifa Recanati Institute of Maritime Studies  to UC San Diego and processed there producing digital tools for the aid of the excavators in the field, such as 3D models of the site, day-by-day interactive top-plans in ArcGIS Pro, and analyses of the divers' movement in the water. The University of Haifa team sent photos, drawings, and 3D scans of unique artifacts to be 3D printed and examined in UC San Diego within hours. Such innovative real-time collaboration is the first that we know of during archaeological excavations. It is far from optimal, but it opens the door for new exciting possibilities in the field. A 3D model of artifacts were prepared at University of Haifa using an HP SLS Pro 3D scanner and sent to UC San Diego Staff meetings were held daily via Zoom and contact in the field was kept via other messaging platforms.

The Mediterranean coast reflects complex long-term relationships between natural marine, terrestrial, and aeolian processes that shape this dynamic environment and have affected human settlement over time. Tel-Dor, northwest Israel, is a city mound adjacent to a bay that evolved from coastal paleosols into a marine marsh and finally a largely enclosed bay from the late-Pleistocene to present. Sediment and archaeologic records preserved at this site provide an opportunity to investigate environmental change and human-coastal interactions. Interpretations of seismics collected from transects across the bay show six seismic-units that have been correlated to dated and described sediment units in boreholes, enabling a detailed a deep-time reconstruction of the coastal system over the last ~75kyr. The earliest borehole deposits are low-stand aeolian and terrestrial sediments that were subsequently flooded by mid-Holocene transgression. Underwater excavation conducted in Dor’s south bay reveals, similar to other underwater Carmel coast sites, a submerged Pottery-Neolithic (PN; 8,250-7,800 YBP) site situated on the Holocene wetland surface. It seems that Dor’s south bay PN habitats settled on the dry wetland surface landward of an aeolianite mound benefiting from the organic rich wetland surface as well as the protective properties of the bay. The wetland deposits are buried by beach sand recording sea level rise in mid and later Holocene. The results of this study provide a framework for other coastal settings aimed at assessing the impact of natural processes on coastal societies.

Tsunami events in antiquity had a profound influence on coastal societies. Six thousand years of historical records and geological data show that tsunamis are a common phenomenon affecting the eastern Mediterranean coastline. However, the possible impact of older tsunamis on prehistoric societies has not been investigated. Here we report, based on optically stimulated luminescence chronology, the earliest documented Holocene tsunami event, between 9.91 to 9.29 ka (kilo-annum), from the eastern Mediterranean at Dor, Israel. Tsunami debris from the early Neolithic is composed of marine sand embedded within fresh-brackish wetland deposits. Global and local sea-level curves for the period, 9.91-9.29 ka, as well as surface elevation reconstructions, show that the tsunami had a run-up of at least~16 m and traveled between 3.5 to 1.5 km inland from the palaeo-coastline. Submerged slump scars on the continental slope, 16 km west of Dor, point to the nearby "Dor-complex" as a likely cause. The near absence of Pre-Pottery Neolithic A-B archaeological sites (11.70-9.80 cal. ka) suggest these sites were removed by the tsunami, whereas younger , late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B-C (9.25-8.35 cal. ka) and later Pottery-Neolithic sites (8.25-7.80 cal. ka) indicate resettlement following the event. The large run-up of this event highlights the disruptive impact of tsunamis on past societies along the Levantine coast.

The protected Tel-Dor coastal embayment in the eastern Mediterranean preserves an unusually complete stratigraphic record that reveals human-environmental interactions throughout the Holocene. Interpretation of new seismic profiles collected from shallow marine geophysical transects across the bay show five seismic units were correlated with stratigraphy and age dates obtained from coastal and shallow-marine sediment cores. This stratigraphic framework permits a detailed reconstruction of the coastal system over the last ca. 77 ka as well as an assessment of environmental factors that influenced some dimensions of past coastal societies. The base of the boreholes records lowstand aeolian deposits overlain by wetland sediments that were subsequently flooded by the mid-Holocene transgression. The earliest human settlements are submerged Pottery Neolithic (8.25-7 ka) structures and tools, found immediately above the wetland deposits landward of a submerged aeolianite ridge at the mouth of the bay. The wetland deposits and Pottery Neolithic settlement remains are buried by coastal sand that records a middle Holocene sea-level rise ca. 7.6-6.5 ka. Stratigraphic and geographic relationships suggest that these coastal communities were displaced by sea-level transgression. These findings demonstrate how robust integration of different data sets can be used to reconstruct the geomorphic evolution of coastal settings as well as provide an important addition to the nature of human-landscape interaction and cultural development.