SEA LEVEL DURING 4TH – 2ND CENTURY B.P. IN EGNAZIA (ITALY) FROM ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HYDROGEOLOGICAL DATA

Abstract

Milella M., Pignatelli C., Donnaloia M. & Mastronuzzi G., Sea Level During 4th–2nd Century B.P. In Egnazia (Italy) From
Archaeological And Hydrogeological Data (IT ISSN 0394-3356, 2007).
This paper aims to estimate the mean sea level position during the 4th–2nd cent. B.C. along the Adriatic coast of Apulia using
archaeological and geomorphological data from the archaeological site of Egnazia. The detailed topographic survey of wells, cisterns
and tombs reported from Giornali di Scavo permitted us to reconstruct the probable groundwater piezometric surface in that period.
Two different scenarios have been considered. The first one considers the active state of wells: we added the value of 35 cm to the
elevation of the well–bottom required in order to take water by means of jars. Furthermore, we subtracted the same value to the elevation of the tomb / cistern–bottom because these structures couldn’t come into contact with groundwater. The second one considers the non–activity of wells: the dating of the wells, based on their replenishment, performed on ceramic fragments, indicates the time they were abandoned and the consequent transformation into dump. In this way only the values of well–bottoms for reconstructing the piezometric surface trend are used. The piezometric surface trend corresponding to the two hypothesis was reconstructed with ArcMap 8.3 GIS software through Kriging interpolating method. Sea level during 4th–2nd cent. B.C. stands at least -1,2 m present sea level.