Paleo-environmental reconstruction of Karaburun coast: a geoarchaeological approach

Abstract

Abstract: Located between Istros and Orgamè, Karaburun is one of the archaic Greek colonies in the southern Danube delta with an occupation period beginning in the mid-6 th c. BC. Nowadays, the remains of the ancient settlement are located close to the shores of lagoon Goloviţa within the Razelm-Sinoe lagoon system which forms the southern part of the Danube Delta. The archaeological and geomorphological data from the site indicates its co-existence with the neighboring ancient cities of Istros and Orgamè on the western Black Sea littoral. However, while research have been carried out in these two major cities, the case of Karaburun has been overlooked. Nothing has been done regarding questions of environmental evolution of the coast to explain the anthropogenic and natural processes that had impact on the settlement. The present study deals with the late Holocene coastal landscape transformation from a paleo-lake stage to the present-day lagoon system. It follows a geoarchaeological approach based on the multi-proxy analysis of 4 cores collected from the area surrounding the site. Sedimentology and fossil micro-fauna (mainly ostracods) methods coupled with 14C (AMS) dates were applied with the aim to resolve the following questions: coastal dynamism and its connection with Istros and Orgamè. Moreover, various other factors that led to geomorphological reform in the southern Danube deltas are incorporated to answer the hypothesis raised here.