Sea Level Changes in Eastern Mediterranean during Holocene Indicators and Human Impacts

Recent developments in coastal geomorphology, micromorphology, sedimentology, climatology, geochronology and estimations of potential global sea level changes, combined with archaeological findings, provide the basis for an approximate reconstruction of the coastal palaeo-environments. Human activities in the littoral zone were affected by the coastal and nearshore conditions during time periods when sea level was lower than today, e.g. the ability to pass via critical straits and channels. Uncertainties concerning various factors such as eustatic sea level, vertical tectonic movements, timing of erosion and deposition, and the climatic data can lead to incorrect presumptions. Nevertheless, it is feasible to produce general models of the processes of coastal evolution during the Holocene, since thorough on-site investigations at certain regions have provided data which enable us to check, advance or even reject these models. The objective of the workshop was to disseminate recent research on sea level fluctuations during the Holocene which have been recorded in the eastern Mediterranean region. Furthermore, the international workshop enhanced the level of professional and personal exchange between scientists of different nationalities working on sea level indicators in the broader area of the Eastern Mediterranean. The scientific topics were focused on: - global sea level changes (eustatism, tectonism) - sea level indicators (beachrock, notches, peat) - human impacts (archaeology, especially the Neolithic and Classical periods). The highlights of the workshop, including the most prominent contributions, are documented in this volume.