Moscow State University
Geographical faculty
This paper addresses the obvious controversy between the so far published sea level curves of the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. It starts with a discussion of the methods of reconstructing sea level curves, the evaluation of sea level... more
This paper addresses the obvious controversy between the so far published sea level curves of the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. It starts with a discussion of the methods of reconstructing sea level curves, the evaluation of sea level indicators, and the application of the radiocarbon dating method. At least since 7500 BP, when the Black Sea and the Mediterranean were connected, both water bodies must have reacted synchronously on glacio-eustatic changes. It is documented that none of the Mediterranean sea level curves shows the major wiggles postulated for the Black Sea which are supposed to reflect trans- and regression cycles. The very shallow bathymetric condition of the Azov Sea and the northern Black Sea should have led to considerable and traceable shoreline displacements. There is neither archaeological nor historical evidence of mid- and late-Holocene regressions of several meters. The tectonic setting of the Black and Azov seas implicates that the tectonic signal often overrides the eustatic one. Therefore, only local sea level curves can be established. In this paper, based on vibracores, a locally valid sea level curve for the Taman Peninsula is demonstrated. Layers of paralic peat were used as sea level indicators and for 14C dating. The shape of this curve follows the one known from the Mediterranean. This study also revealed that the present peninsula of Taman evolved out of a former archipelago.
Péninsule de Taman (Russie méridionale). PÉNINSULE DE TAMAN (RUSSIE MÉRIDIONALE) 589. Péninsule de Taman (Russie méridionale). par Christel MULLER, Éric FOUACHE et Youri GORLOV avec la collaboration de Mikhaïl Abramzon, Vassif Gaïbov et... more
Péninsule de Taman (Russie méridionale). PÉNINSULE DE TAMAN (RUSSIE MÉRIDIONALE) 589. Péninsule de Taman (Russie méridionale). par Christel MULLER, Éric FOUACHE et Youri GORLOV avec la collaboration de Mikhaïl Abramzon, Vassif Gaïbov et Alexei Porotov. ...
GEOMORPHOLOGY AND GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL TYPOLOGY OF ANCIENT HARBOURS IN LAGOONAL CONTEXTS In coastal areas, under a context of relative sea-level stability during the past 6,000 years, one important question relates to the impact of... more
GEOMORPHOLOGY AND GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL TYPOLOGY OF ANCIENT HARBOURS IN LAGOONAL CONTEXTS
In coastal areas, under a context of relative sea-level stability during the past 6,000 years, one important question relates to
the impact of environmental conditions on human settlements around lagoons. Historiography has developed a number of
deterministic models but how do these fair in the light of recent palaeo-environmental data? What was the impact of these occupations on the evolution of the coastline? How did ancient societies use and overcome, or not, the environmental potentialities and specific constraints linked to the occupation of lagoonal environments, including accessibility, navigation conditions, sediment infilling and the draught depth. Here we present a number of multidisciplinary case study examples of lagoonal harbours. We attempt to estimate the weight of natural forcing agents on the different harbour sites and underline the important roles of coastline changes and the sedimentary infilling of the lagoons at different spatial scales. These processes impacted upon the infrastructure and the viability
of the lagoonal harbours to varying degrees. We present five main types of lagoonal harbour that show the great diversity of these environments, their potentiality and also their constraints:
(1) artificially-dug lagoonal harbours, known in the ancient literature as “cothons”
(2) infilled lagoonal harbours in deltaic contexts
(3) lagoonal harbours still in water
(4) estuarine harbours
(5) mixed lagoon systems.
In coastal areas, under a context of relative sea-level stability during the past 6,000 years, one important question relates to
the impact of environmental conditions on human settlements around lagoons. Historiography has developed a number of
deterministic models but how do these fair in the light of recent palaeo-environmental data? What was the impact of these occupations on the evolution of the coastline? How did ancient societies use and overcome, or not, the environmental potentialities and specific constraints linked to the occupation of lagoonal environments, including accessibility, navigation conditions, sediment infilling and the draught depth. Here we present a number of multidisciplinary case study examples of lagoonal harbours. We attempt to estimate the weight of natural forcing agents on the different harbour sites and underline the important roles of coastline changes and the sedimentary infilling of the lagoons at different spatial scales. These processes impacted upon the infrastructure and the viability
of the lagoonal harbours to varying degrees. We present five main types of lagoonal harbour that show the great diversity of these environments, their potentiality and also their constraints:
(1) artificially-dug lagoonal harbours, known in the ancient literature as “cothons”
(2) infilled lagoonal harbours in deltaic contexts
(3) lagoonal harbours still in water
(4) estuarine harbours
(5) mixed lagoon systems.
2016, Giaime M., Avnaim-Katav S., Morhange C., Marriner N., Rostek F., Porotov A. V., Baralis A., Kaniewski D., Brueckner H., Kelterbaum D., Evolution of Taman Peninsula’s ancient Bosphoruses, south-west Russia: deltaic progradation and... more
2016, Giaime M., Avnaim-Katav S., Morhange C., Marriner N., Rostek F., Porotov A. V., Baralis A., Kaniewski D., Brueckner H., Kelterbaum D., Evolution of Taman Peninsula’s ancient Bosphoruses, south-west Russia: deltaic progradation and Greek colonization, Journal of Archaeological Sciences, reports, 5, pp. 327–335.
Throughout its geologic history, the Black Sea experienced major sea level changes accompanied by severe environmental modifications, including geomorphologic reshaping. The most spectacular changes were driven by the Quaternary... more
Throughout its geologic history, the Black Sea experienced major sea level changes accompanied by severe environmental modifications, including geomorphologic reshaping. The most spectacular changes were driven by the Quaternary glaciations and deglaciations that reflect responses to Milankovitch cycles of 100 and 20 ky periodicity. Major sea level changes were also considered for a shorter and more recent cyclicity. The concept of the Phanagorian re- and transgression cycle, supposedly with a minimum sea level stand of 5–6 m below its present position in the middle of the 1st millennium BC, was established in 1963 by Fedorov for the Black Sea region. It was based on archaeological and palaeogeographical research conducted around the ancient Greek colonies of the Cimmerian Bosporus, in particular at the name giving site of Phanagoria, where underwater prospection had revealed the presence of a large number of submerged relics of the Classical Greek era.Analyses of sediment cores as well as 14C-dated fossil coastal bars in the western and southern parts of Taman Peninsula show that contemporary coastal bars are related to different sea levels. The dissymmetry can reach up to 6 m around 500 BC. This and more evidence from drill cores confirms that on Taman Peninsula many of the apparent sea level changes are tectonically induced. The subsidence may have been initiated by the release of gas from mud volcanoes inherited along anticline axes. Other observations around the Black Sea confirm that submerged archaeological sites correspond to areas where subsidence has taken places, while the so-called Holocene highstand – said to have been located above the present-day sea level – is associated with uplift areas (triggered by the ongoing Caucasus orogeny). Recent oceanographic research carried out in the Black Sea area shows that since the Black Sea was reconnected with the Mediterranean Sea (i.e., 7500 14C BP at the latest), both marine water bodies have been in equilibrium. This fact and arguments from archaeology, history, hydrodynamics etc. lead us to question the existence of the Phanagorian regression. It is important to note that none of the sea level curves established for the (eastern) Mediterranean shows a comparable regression/transgression cycle of several metres during the 1st millennium BC.
... Drowned archaeological remains at Nymphaeum and Akra constrain sea level in the second half of the 1st ... on the north-western coastline of the Gulf of Taman, has shown that the lower city had a ... in the Classical cities in the... more
... Drowned archaeological remains at Nymphaeum and Akra constrain sea level in the second half of the 1st ... on the north-western coastline of the Gulf of Taman, has shown that the lower city had a ... in the Classical cities in the region to the north Black Sea, Ancient civilization from ...
Geomorphology and geoarchaeology of Black sea coasts.
Journal of Mediterranean geography
MEDITERRANEE
n° 126 (2016)
Journal of Mediterranean geography
MEDITERRANEE
n° 126 (2016)
2016, Kaniewski D., Giaime M., Marriner N., Morhange C., Bolikhovskaya N., Porotov A., Van Campo E., Emergence of agriculture on the Taman Peninsula, Russia, Méditerranée, 122, pp 111-118. The temporal and spatial diffusion of early... more
2016, Kaniewski D., Giaime M., Marriner N., Morhange C., Bolikhovskaya N., Porotov A., Van Campo E., Emergence of agriculture on the Taman Peninsula, Russia, Méditerranée, 122, pp 111-118.
The temporal and spatial diffusion of early agriculture across Europe from the Fertile Crescent has been widely studied, but data from the Caucasian corridor are still rare. This study shows the first evidence for the cultivation of cereals and anthropogenic fires in southern Russia, between the Black Sea and the Azov Sea, 7000 years ago. It suggests that the Caucasian corridor contributed to the spread of agricultural practices throughout the steppes of Eurasia. This study also shows the strong impact of these practices on the dynamics of local coastal and forested ecosystems.
The temporal and spatial diffusion of early agriculture across Europe from the Fertile Crescent has been widely studied, but data from the Caucasian corridor are still rare. This study shows the first evidence for the cultivation of cereals and anthropogenic fires in southern Russia, between the Black Sea and the Azov Sea, 7000 years ago. It suggests that the Caucasian corridor contributed to the spread of agricultural practices throughout the steppes of Eurasia. This study also shows the strong impact of these practices on the dynamics of local coastal and forested ecosystems.
2016, Baralis A., Bivolaru A., Marriner N., Morhange C., Porotov A., Zin’ko V. Foreword, Geomorphology and geoarchaeology of Black Sea coasts, Méditerranée, 126, pp 3-14.
Paleogeographic studies confirm the assumption of the existence of vast lagoon (liman) in the delta of the Kuban during the first millennium BC. At the same time, it is hardly correct to call this paleoliman a true sea strait. Judging by... more
Paleogeographic studies confirm the assumption of the existence of vast lagoon (liman) in the delta of the Kuban during the first millennium BC. At the same time, it is hardly correct to call this paleoliman a true sea strait. Judging by the available archaeological materials, the shores of the lagoon or paleoliman began to be settled by the Greeks from the second quarter of 6 c. BC. However, there is no reason to agree with the statements about the special influence of the supposed Kuban water connection of the Black and Azov Seas (so-called Kuban Bosphorus) on the rate and nature of early Greek colonization of the eastern part of the Asiatic Bosporus. More justified at the present time is the model, implying the penetration of settlers into the paleoliman mainly from the Black Sea through the south passage (pra-Bugaz girlo).
MEDITERRANEE, issue 126, 2016, PUP.
edited by A. Baralis, A. Bivolaru, N. Marriner, C. Morhange, V. Zinko and A. Porotov.
edited by A. Baralis, A. Bivolaru, N. Marriner, C. Morhange, V. Zinko and A. Porotov.