Geo-archaeological implications of river and coastal dynamics at the Potenza river mouth (The Marches, Italy)
Goethals, T.; De Dapper, M.; Vermeulen, F. (2009). Geo-archaeological implications of river and coastal dynamics at the Potenza river mouth (The Marches, Italy), in: De Dapper, M. et al. Ol' Man River: geo-archaeological aspects of rivers and river plains. pp. 407-438
In: De Dapper, M. et al. (2009). Ol' Man River: geo-archaeological aspects of rivers and river plains. Academia Press: Ghent. ISBN 9789038214047. , meer
|
| Trefwoorden |
|
| Author keywords |
Potenza river; the Marches; Italy; PVS; coastal plain; river diversion &avulsion; geoarchaeology; Holocene; Potentia |
| Auteurs | | Top |
- Goethals, T.
- De Dapper, M.
- Vermeulen, F.
|
|
|
| Abstract |
In this contribution, the coastal and fluvial dynamics in the Potenza river plain (the Marches, Italy) are discussed, with the spatial and temporal extension of their associated features, to the degree of detail possible with the evidence at hand; and with their implications on archaeological site formation in its broadest sense, though focused on the Roman period (2nd century BCE - 7th century CE) and the roman city Potentia. The results, both concerning fluvial and coastal dynamics, could be fitted into the general story for the Marche region, as found in literature. The coast, starting off with an alternation of cliffs and bays during the Versilian transgression, was transformed into a beach barrier-lagoon system with a marine terrace at the base of the cliffs after the mid-Holocene, once the sea-level rise slowed down. Potentia was built on such a beach barrier. Behind the barriers, sediments were deposited, shaping the coastal plain in two distinct phases, one phase of land formation by deltaic fluvial infill, and a post-medieval phase with clay-deck formation by floods. The fluvial dynamics include river diversions, from a central position in the coastal plain started before the Bronze Age, via a Roman and medieval course debouching 0.5 km more to the north, to the present artificial course in the extreme north of the coastal plain. These alternations of the physical environment had their implications on the archaeological record, influencing amongst others: the location of the harbour of Potentia, the extension of the city towards the east, the implications for geo-electrical and geomagnetical survey, the form of the Roman road pattern, the impact on river management options and the choice of site locations for production. |
|
