‘The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology and Underwater Exploration (1983), 12.3: 191-202 Aerial photography of some Greek coastal regions and its archaeological implications Y. Liritzis, P. Miserlis and R. Rigopoulos Physics Laboratory II, University of Patras, Patras, Greece ‘In early archaeological studies emphasis was given to the analysis of archaeological sites in inter- preting the civilisations they represent. Over the past decade, archaeologists have begun to pay more particular attention to the immediate geomorphic setting, the regional geomorphology of the area, climatic change, geology, and so forth, with the application of different techniques in an attempt to determine the reasons for the establishment of various towns and cities at particular locations and for shifts of centres of civilisation.’ Kraft et al. (1977). Aerial photography is the technique that is applied here. Introduction Aerial photography has been extensively used in Italy by Professor Schmiedt (1975) in his endeavour to find and study the archaeological remains of ancient city-ports. Our first attempt at a similar goal consisted of examining four aerial photographs which were kindly supplied by the Geographical Army Services (GIS) of Greece. The four ancient Hellenic coastal cities were: Ancient Epidaurus, Eretria, Antirion and Oineon. The findings for each site will be des- cribed separately, and discussion on sealevel fluctuations and earthquake activities, as well as some geological aspects and related phenomena will follow. Epidaurus Palaea Epidaurus, a modern city, lies about 10 km away from Ancient Epidaurus, on the North East Peloponnese. The Gulf of Epidaurus was used as a harbour by the ancient Epidaur- ians who, thereafter, improved this natural bight by the construction of two artificial jetties (see AB in Fig. 1). These seaworks were presumably made to protect the ships of the ancient Epidaurians from stormy seas. The harbour could also be used by other ships passing this coastal strip. The dashed line of Fig. 1 shows clearly the ancient coastline. In some parts this has been silted-up, whilst in other areas (e.g. A and extrapolated B), it has been submerged (see also Kritzas, 1972). 0305- 7445/83/030191+12 $03.00/0 In the centre of the harbour we have traced the outline of a wreck. Both the type of ship and the period to which it belongs is at present under investigation. Eretria Eretria has existed since Homeric times. It is an important maritime city with many colonies in Southern Italy, Sicily and in Chalkidiki. In 490 BC it was besieged and burnt by the Persians. It was later rebuilt by the Athenians. In 411 BC, the Eretrians destroyed in their port the escap- ing Athenian ships which had been attacked and defeated by the Spartans (Eleftheroudakis, 1962). In 188 BC, the Eretrians together with the Macedonians, fought against the Romans. By the beginning of the Middle Ages, it appears that the city had been abandoned. As a city, Eretria was well fortified with strong walls, towers and an Acropolis. Its port was protected from the west by an artificial jetty and from the east by a small jetty and the isle of Pezonision. Fig. 2A, B shows the sub- merged west jetty (AB) about 350 m long, the small jetty (CD) and the islet (D). Southwards of the dike we have traced another coastal plain and a sort of jetty (AF) that forms another natural habour. Probably it was used in Homeric times. Further south, the rounded dashed lines reveal ancient coastal lines. The classical ruins of Eretria, that is, the theatre, houses, etc. are situated at (E). © 1983 The Nautical Archacology Trust Ltd.NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 12.3 -—-— ANCIENT COASTLINE A-8: SUBMERGED MOLES ~~ 9 300 ea Figure 1. Schematic diagram of the coasts of Palaeo Epidaurus, North East Peloponnese, indicating the underwater features. 192Y. LIRITZIS ET AL.: AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY Antirion Traditions in Naupactus say that in Antirion the ships of the Dorians were made in order to sail to the Peloponnese in c. 1100 BC. In Fig. 3B, the dashed line of the ancient coastline forms what appears to be a natural harbour (AB) which could be considered as the port or dockyard of the Dorians. Older coastal levels are also marked by undulous silts, shown on Fig. 3B by dotted lines, because the sea was at higher levels than today at certain periods of the past. Similarly, a cycle of coastal erosions has begun in some areas that might normally be one of marine regression and transgression; one can see this in the geomorphic forms evident on the low-lying coastal plains. The Venetian castle (B), built by Morosini, in 1689 also was obvious- ly further inland at the time of its construction. Oineon The city of Oineon has not yet been identified. Only some ancient ruins, i.e. wall and some tombs, have been discovered, which scem to indicate the presence of an ancient city, though no significant or characteristic artefacts have been found (Sotiriadis, 1906), Fig. 4A. Thucydides describes it as a small port belonging to the Ozoloi—Lokroi peoples of the Corinthian coast. He noted it as having a small harbour: ‘. . . (Demosthenes) with the rest of the army, Kefalinas, Mesenious, Zakinthious and three hundred Athenians who were soldiers of his shipyard attacked the Aetolians, having as their naval base Oineon of Lokris’. In 426 BC, Oineon was taken by the Athen- ians who thereafter used Oineon as a base from which to fight the Aetolians. Confirmation of the suggestion that it was a small port is given by the Egnlish traveller, (Leake, 1814). From the above, there is not a single men- tion of the exact location of the ancient city and harbour of Oineon. However, from detailed studies of the surrounding area, we would place the site of Oineon and its port as in Fig. 4B, which means that sea and land re-arrangements brought the sea to its present level with the coastline further from the city. The reasons which lead us to this hypothesis are the following: The sea level around S00 BC was at least | _m lower than it is today, on the evidence from Naples and the Adriatic sea (Lamb, 1977). As a result of the repeated earthquakes and subsequent morphogenesis of the area (the greatest earthquake reported was in 426 BC), the land must have risen by much more than 1—2 m. This rise is associated with the transportation of sediments and the de- position of weathered and eroded materials by the River Daphnus (now called the River Mornos), which resulted in a broadening of the ial delta or estuary, the ancient ebbing point A in Fig. 4B. This caused a larger alluvial fan in the delta. From Fig. 4A, the obvious contrast of black and white indicates well the older flow direc- tion of the river, that is, further to the east. The present direction of the river is man-made at some time in the past (Fig. 4B dotted line). Raphael (1969) describes in great detail the historic evidence for the shift of the mouth of the Peneus River from the northern side of the Chlemutsi headland to the southern side. Thus, the large Daphnus River, whose width varies from 100 m to 500 m, and the associated morphological changes have together contribu- ted towards a higher ground level which had the consequence of ‘grounding’ the city of Oineon further away from the sea coast today by a distance of around 3 km. Similar situations to that of Oineon have been observed in Ancient Elis (also known as Helice or Eliki) (FICH, 1982), and also in southern Italy (Lucania) and at the Classical Greek city of Pixous, (Schmiedt, 1975). Geological aspects of coastal change Much of continental Greece exhibits a surface veneer of sediments from the Holocene epoch which overlie sediments of earlier ages of the Quaternary (approx. the past 1-5 million years). Many of these areas are tectonically controlled grabens (down faulted basins) and are flanked by horsts (upthrown blocks of older rocks), All of these include the major drainage sys- tems of the past 10,000 years. Thus, they tend to be extremely important in the interpretation of archaeological settings and civilisations as they have evolved from the Neolithic to the present time. Much of the present topography of Europe was shaped by the last glaciation and has since been modified by four inter-related processes: (a) climatic change has altered hydraulic and 193NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 12.3 Figure 2A. Aerial photograph of the coast of Eretria, Euboea.Y. LIRITZIS ET AL.: AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY RE Evgorcum Ma A-B: SUBMERGED MOLE E: CLASSICAL RUINS "29 ____90_s0m Figure 2B. Schematic diagram of Fig. 2A, indicating the underwater features. 195NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 12.3Y. LIRITZIS ET AL. - AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY “saINqwoy JOVBAUOpUN oy} ZuBLTpUT ‘VE “BJ JO WeIFEIP ONwUIOYOS “gE oINT}y aNMisvoo .NaIONY S73Aa7 18v0O9 .LNZIDNY enovIHANidos 197NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 12.3 Figure 4A. Aerial photograph of Oineon area.Y. LIRITZIS ET AL.: AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY CORINTHIACUS Fluvial Diversions Older Flow Direction of Daphnus ~ Ancient Coastline Figure 4B. Schematic diagram of River Daphnus delta, imlicating Oineon Classical site. 199NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 12.3 vegetal régimes affecting erosion and deposi- tion in coastal regions; (b) sediment infilling has enlarged deltaic and other coastal land areas in many regions; (c) eustatic sea-level rise since the Late Pleisto- cene deglaciation has had dramatic effects on many coastal areas; (d) regional and local vertical tectonic move- ments have shifted land masses in active areas sufficiently to prevent the detailed application of world-wide sea-level fluctuation curves, to the solution of local palaeogeomorphic problems (Starkel, 1968; Loy, 1967; Carpenter, 1966). Others have commented in detail on these subjects; however, because of the endless possibilities of geomorphic explanations, offered by general theories, each problem of geomorphological interpretation (e.g. location of acoastal city), must be solved independently, if it is to be solved on local evidence, (Vita-Finzi, 1968). ‘A report has been written-up on the Late Holocene palaeogeography of the coastal plain of the Gulf of Messenia, Greece, and its relation- ship to archaeological sites and coastal changes. The site distribution created by these environ- ments is balanced between the sediments supplied by the alluvial systems and their modification by coastal wave action, (Kraft er al., 1975). Questions remain about the importance of tectonic uplift and downwarping relative to sediment input and changes in eustatic sea level. Wendel (1969) noted that minor tectonic changes may have disrupted the flow of waters to the sea and increased the rates of alluviation compared to normal rates of river plain deposition. Catastrophic changes caused by tsunamis such as one probably generated by the volcanic explosion at Santorini is another factor. Kraft et al. (1975) have interpreted sub- surface data in the Golf of Argos, Gulf of Messenia and the Plain of Laconia and have constructed relative sea level fluctuations in a time sequence. Other related geographic coastal changes The historical record contains numerous state- ments regarding geographic change in Classical— 200 Hellenistic—Roman and later times. Pausanias, Herodotus and Aristotle frequently commented on geographic change. Vita-Finzi states: ‘the principle was familiar to Pausanias (who said): that the Echinadian Islands have not yet been joined to the Mainland by the Achelous is due to the Aetolians; for they have been driven out, and the whole country has been turned into a wilderness’ (1968: 111). Hence, Aetolia remaining uncultivated the Achelous did not wash down so much mud on the Echinadian Islands as it would otherwise have done had cultivation continued. In proof of this, we can point to the Meander (Asia Minor), flowing through the lands of Phrygia and Caria, which are ploughed every year. [t has, in a short time, turned the sea between Priene and Miletus into dry land. Russell (1954) noted that alluviation of river valleys, concomitant with seaevel rise, has led to numerous flood plains enclosed within deep valleys in some of the most densely occupied historic and prehistoric areas surrounding the Aegean Sea. The effect of river alluviation in Oineon is evident also in Fig. 5. This is a map sequence showing the palaeogeography of alluviation or sedimentary infill of the Thermaikos from the Macedonian capital Pella, to the northwest of the present-day city of Thessaloniki. Discussion on the sea-level fluctuations and seismicity of the sites The changes of seaevel relative to land (coast- land) that occur locally or regionally are caused by variations in the tectonic changes, e.g., land depression and recovery with imposition and loss of ice load, local collapses and upheavals due to volcanic eruptions and faulting due to earthquakes. Earthquakes can be considered as the main cause of coastal changes in relation to sea-level fluctuations, because of the increased seismicity of Greece. Of all the great earthquakes reported by ancient historians, the most catastrophic were those in 426 BC and 373 BC, which, with an epicentre in the Gulf of Corinth, had disasterous effects on the coasts of the Peloponnese and Mainland Greece. Land collapse and upheavals were reported. AnotherY. LIRITZIS ET AL.: AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY sees PRESENT SHORELINE SSS 1 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 KILOMETERS Schematic diagram illustrating the palacogeography of alluviation of the Thermaikos Gulf, Thessaloniki (after Eumorphopoulos, 1964.). TH in the bottom part of the figure refers to modem Thessalonika. Figure 5. earthquake occurred in 180 BC (Pausanias, 1967, ed.). In addition, sea level may be expected to fluctuate eustatically (world-wide) up and down, with every fluctuation of climate or at least with those climatic fluctuations that are of world-wide extent. In relation to the three above-mentioned sites, with these climatic data, it is also worth noting the following, (Lamb, 1977). For the period in general circa 1700 to S00 BC, a some- what receding sea-level is indicated, leading to the exposure of areas to beach sand and drying out. In origin, the sands in most of the regions (e.g. Antirion) were glacial outwash sands, submerged by the great rise of sea level between the end of the glaciation and about 2000 BC. The great period of Greek and Phoenician sea trading and establishment of maritime colonies coincided with the lowered general sealevel associated with the cooler climate between about 600 to 100 BC. Thus, harbour works from about 500 BC at Naples and in the Adriatic indicate a sea level of more than 1 m below that of the present. This was the time of existence of Ancient Epidaurus and the powerful Eretria with their dikes and ancient harbours, which have been discovered, There is similar evidence of sea-level rise at this time from various points of the North African coast, the coasts of the eastern Mediterranean and the Crimea, from ancient harbour works and salt pans; though a minor rise of sea level also occurred about 400 BC, when the mouth of the Tiber was moved to Ostia, further inland, and the older Roman coastal salt pans were lost, as had happened in Greece during the Peloponnesian war about 431 BC. The sea level was also rising again, however, and by about 400 AD may have been more than 1 m above the present level. The har- bours of Rome (Trajan’s harbour) and Ravenna were moved to places which today are 1 km or more inland. In 700 AD the sea-level fell almost to the level of 500 BC until 1000 AD and after. Sea floods which caused losses of land and cost many human lives are also reported by Pytheas to have occurred 350—340 BC; as well as c, 120-114 in Jutland and northwest Ger- many (the Cymbrian flood). In Roman times, there are indications of periods of calmer seas with high sea level, as later between 900-1100 AD. The warm medi- eval epoch was accompanied by a gradual rise in sea level which, together with the increasing storminess from about 1200 AD onwards, wrought great losses of land such as the abandonment of Eretria. The coastland of the Corinthian Gulf must have suffered many changes and a land rise has been observed at Thermopylae of around 10m. These climatic changes have pronounced effects on coasts which are associated with the transportation of sediments and other weathered and eroded materials from the nearby moun- tains by fluvial and aeolic action, 201NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 12.3 References Carpenter, R., 1966, Discontinuity in Greek civilisation: 80 Cambridge. 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