Thanks to the active collaboration with Italian and foreign archaeological-geoarchaeological research groups, interdisciplinary studies on the bio-sedimentary record buried beneath different Mediterranean and extra-Mediterranean sites of high historical-archaeological value have been recently undertaken. Quantitative analyses of the macro-meiofauna composition have been combined with shell chemistry, sedimentology, geochemistry of sediments and archaeological data recorded within cored sedimentary successions and trenches, located inside the archaeological site (i.e., Magdala ancient city – Sea of Galilee) or in proximity of ancient settlements, along the borders of deltaic lagoon systems (i.e., Enisala – Razelm lagoon of the Danube Delta) and continental wetlands (i.e., Tell Tuqan – Matkh N Syria) exploited by humans.
This approach has provided detailed information about past environmental changes, otherwise not visible, and the stratigraphic relationships existing among natural, human-modified and made-ground (structures) deposits. The identification of the main driver(s) of the faunal turnover through the sedimentary successions, if placed into a high-resolution chronological framework based on radiocarbon data and potentially supported by pottery ages, can also furnish new fundamental insights on the type, degree and evolution of the environmental modifications linked to human activities (i.e., harbour construction and demise; agricultural activities; etc…).
Collaborations
Prof. Christophe Morhange – Université Aix-Marseille, CEREGE Department
Prof. Vincenzo Picotti – Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zurich
Prof. Giovanni Sarti – Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa