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Geoarchaeology confirms location of the ancient harbour basin of Ostia (Italy)

Geoarchaeology confirms location of the ancient harbour basin of Ostia (Italy)
Geoarchaeology confirms location of the ancient harbour basin of Ostia (Italy)
To the northwest of the ancient city of Ostia, the analysis of cores revealed a stratigraphic sequence, which we interpret as the filling of a harbour basin. This basin, located at the west of the so-called “Palazzo Imperiale” presents seven characteristics: (1) The maximum depth is 6 m below the Roman sea level. This depth allowed any type of ship (even heavy tonnage) to access the harbour. (2) A chronostratigraphic gap at ?6 m below Roman sea level suggests digging operations in the basin (or subsequent dredging) that have caused the loss of sedimentary archives. (3) The filling consists of dark clays typical of a quiet environment but open to marine and river influences. (4) The dates at the base of this sequence give a range between the 4th and the 2nd century BC. (5) In the harbour sequence, a facies change at ?2.5 m under the Roman sea level involves a change in the processes of sedimentation and/or operation. (6) No later than the beginning of the 1st century AD, the thickness of the water column in the basin is less than 50 cm and seems to be caused by a massive siltation following a succession of floods of the Tiber. (7) This basin was thus already abandoned during the start-up of Portus.
harbour, geoarchaeology, stratigraphy, ostia, rome, tiber, mediterranean sea
0305-4403
389-398
Goiran, Jean-Philippe
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Salomon, Ferreol
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Mazzini, Ilaria
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Bravard, Jean-Paul
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Pleuger, Elisa
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Vittori, Cécile
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Boetto, Giulia
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Christiansen, Jonatan
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Arnaud, Pascal
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Pellegrino, Angelo
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Pepe, Caterina
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Sadori, Laura
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Goiran, Jean-Philippe
0cae676a-890b-4b79-addf-85bc2ef7f8f1
Salomon, Ferreol
728f3798-6cd0-45eb-bd09-25ea7159769e
Mazzini, Ilaria
954499e3-16e3-4dce-8dda-62431cece611
Bravard, Jean-Paul
ea9d4568-dffa-47f4-8a2c-ce40efcf52f8
Pleuger, Elisa
0aaf39d7-6b44-4f47-a11c-78e96ce2ef9b
Vittori, Cécile
4437bc2c-8312-496a-b4b5-429c83e959d1
Boetto, Giulia
f7a6a050-f5da-4902-897a-7f9483e06d6d
Christiansen, Jonatan
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Arnaud, Pascal
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Pellegrino, Angelo
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Pepe, Caterina
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Sadori, Laura
cd172e78-c1d1-438d-a125-59b30d21eb2e

Goiran, Jean-Philippe, Salomon, Ferreol, Mazzini, Ilaria, Bravard, Jean-Paul, Pleuger, Elisa, Vittori, Cécile, Boetto, Giulia, Christiansen, Jonatan, Arnaud, Pascal, Pellegrino, Angelo, Pepe, Caterina and Sadori, Laura (2014) Geoarchaeology confirms location of the ancient harbour basin of Ostia (Italy). Journal of Archaeological Science, 41, 389-398. (doi:10.1016/j.jas.2013.08.019).

Record type: Article

Abstract

To the northwest of the ancient city of Ostia, the analysis of cores revealed a stratigraphic sequence, which we interpret as the filling of a harbour basin. This basin, located at the west of the so-called “Palazzo Imperiale” presents seven characteristics: (1) The maximum depth is 6 m below the Roman sea level. This depth allowed any type of ship (even heavy tonnage) to access the harbour. (2) A chronostratigraphic gap at ?6 m below Roman sea level suggests digging operations in the basin (or subsequent dredging) that have caused the loss of sedimentary archives. (3) The filling consists of dark clays typical of a quiet environment but open to marine and river influences. (4) The dates at the base of this sequence give a range between the 4th and the 2nd century BC. (5) In the harbour sequence, a facies change at ?2.5 m under the Roman sea level involves a change in the processes of sedimentation and/or operation. (6) No later than the beginning of the 1st century AD, the thickness of the water column in the basin is less than 50 cm and seems to be caused by a massive siltation following a succession of floods of the Tiber. (7) This basin was thus already abandoned during the start-up of Portus.

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Goiran Salomon et al 2014 JAS - Port d'Ostie.pdf - Author's Original
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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 22 August 2013
e-pub ahead of print date: 30 August 2013
Published date: January 2014
Keywords: harbour, geoarchaeology, stratigraphy, ostia, rome, tiber, mediterranean sea
Organisations: Archaeology

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 378834
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/378834
ISSN: 0305-4403
PURE UUID: 005e58ac-6eb7-4509-a7fa-e0019210aff1

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Date deposited: 18 Jul 2015 16:10
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 20:29

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Contributors

Author: Jean-Philippe Goiran
Author: Ferreol Salomon
Author: Ilaria Mazzini
Author: Jean-Paul Bravard
Author: Elisa Pleuger
Author: Cécile Vittori
Author: Giulia Boetto
Author: Jonatan Christiansen
Author: Pascal Arnaud
Author: Angelo Pellegrino
Author: Caterina Pepe
Author: Laura Sadori

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