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Géoarchéologie littorale

Late Holocene ground movements in the Phlegrean Volcanic District (Southern Italy): new geoarchaeological evidence from the islands of Vivara and Procida

Déplacements verticaux du sol à l’Holocène dans les Champs Phlégréens (Italie du Sud): nouvelles données géo-archéologiques dans les îles de Vivara et de Procida
Movimenti verticali del suolo nell’area vulcanica dei Campi Flegrei (Italia meridionale): nuove evidenze geoarcheologiche dai fondali delle isole di Procida e Vivara
Maria Luisa Putignano, Aldo Cinque, Alfredo Lozej and Claudio Mocchegiani Carpano
p. 43-50

Abstracts

The Phlegrean Volcanic District is well known for its geoarchaeological evidence of vertical ground movements and coastal changes since the Roman period. In this paper we present the results obtained by studying the geomorphology and archaeology offshore of the Vivara and Procida islands, which were frequented by Aegean-Mycenaeans during the Bronze Age. The study allowed several palaeo-coastlines to be identified between 1 and 21 m b.s.l.. The lowest one is tentatively assigned to ca. 7000 BP, while those between -18 and -10 m are referred to date to the 18th to the 15th century B.C. on the basis of landing structures and other archaeological finds. The traces of other short-lived, relative sea-level stands have been found at about -8.5/-10, -5/-6, -3.5, -2.5 and -1 m. The study area underwent a discontinuous subsidence of about 15 m during the last 3800 years.

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1The Phlegrean Volcanic District - located along the Tyrrhenian coast of Southern Italy - offers various and often measurable evidence of volcano-tectonic and bradyseismic movements. The oldest local record of such phenomena is the 800 m uplift of Ischia Island in the Late Pleistocene (Barra et al., 1992), while the youngest episode is the bradyseismic crisis that affected the Pozzuoli area from the late 1960s to 1984 (Barberiet al., 1984). Movements of Holocene age are witnessed, among others, by the La Starza marine terrace, which was uplifted 30-40 m a.s.l. about 4  ka ago (Zamparelli et al., 1983; Cinque et al., 1985). Also of note is the 2000 yrs history of movements recorded in the Pozzuoli Gulf by a rich set of geoarchaeological evidence, such as the submerged ruins of Portus Julius (built in 36‑37  B. C. and nowadays found between 5 and 10 m b.s.l.) and the Lythophaga perforations of 400-530 A.D. (Morhangeet al., 2006) on the columns of the so called Serapeo temple now positioned at 7 m a.s.l.. The archaeological heritage of the Phlegrean district is also very rich. During Roman times the area was punctuated by aristocratic sea-side villas, while Puteoli was already an important town and the largest military port of Rome was in Misenum. But this was also the area where the first settlements of the Magna Grecia were founded in the 8th century B.C. (Pithekoussai on Ischia Island and Kyme, nowadays Cuma, on the mainland).
It is well known that, in founding these and other colonies, the Greeks did not discover the Tyrrhenian coast; rather they “returned” along routes their ancestors had travelled centuries before. This is proved by abundant archaeological evidence of trade exchanges between indigenous Italian groups and sailors coming from the Eastern Mediterranean area. Furthermore, the objects of Aegean-Mycenaean origin discovered on Vivara Island are amongst the oldest ever found in Italy (Marazzi, 1994). As Vivara is today (and was many centuries ago) a small deserted island, it may appear strange that it was settled and frequented during those times. But Vivara and the adjacent island of Procida have nice crater gulfs that, being well protected against storms, probably attracted ancient sailors. Moreover the commercial exchange with the inhabitants of the fertile Campania Plain could have been favoured by the isthmuses connecting Vivara with Procida and the mainland in those ancient times. Intrigued by this hypothesis, and with the aim of increasing the knowledge on recent tectonic movements in the Phlegrean district, we have studied the offshore of Vivara and Procida Islands in search of geological and archaeological sea-level indicators.

1 - Geological and geomorphological settings

2The islands of Procida and Vivara, as well as Ischia, are the emerging portions of the western Phlegrean Volcanic District, whose eastern part (on the mainland) is known as the Phlegrean Fields (fig. 1).

3The history of the whole district has been dominated by explosive eruptions and frequent migrations of the eruption vents, making the landscape rich in wide and low rings mostly composed of tuffs and loose pyroclastics. The beginning of volcanoes in this district is not precisely dated, but volcanics older than 159 ka are present on Ischia Island (Rosi et al., 1988) while on Procida Island the last eruption (creating the Solchiaro tuff ring) occurred about 22 ka years ago. The most ancient products in the study area have created the tuff ring of Vivara, the tuff ring of Pozzo Vecchio and the tuff cone of Terra Murata (those located in Procida Island) that were formed before 75 ka ago. These deposits were successively covered by loose pyroclastic units deriving from nearby volcanic of Ischia and the Phlegrean Fields; the last eruptions occurred between 14 and 3.5 ka ago (Rosi et al., 1988). In terms of underwater geomorphology, the study area belongs to an elongated volcanic seamount connecting the Phlegrean Fields to Ischia. Both flanks of this high are marked by fault scarps, which are much higher and steeper to the SE. This asymmetry is also reflected by the continental shelf, which is wider and less dissected to the NW (where the shelf-break is at -140 to -160 m) and narrower and deeply dissected by the Magnaghi Canyon to the SE, where the shelf-break reaches -180 m. Inside the seamount area, several submerged terraces occur. Some of these are probably of structural origin, but many have the typical shape and continuity of marine terraces, mostly of erosional origin. Particularly common are terraces at -20/-21.5, -23/-26; -28/-30 and -45/-50 m, which have not yet been precisely dated, even if the terrace order around -20 m was tentatively ascribed to a sea level stand predating the Last Glacial Maximum byDe Alteris et al., (1994).

Fig. 1 - Location of the study area on a schematic geological map of the central Campania region.

Fig. 1 - Location of the study area on a schematic geological map of the central Campania region.

1) Quaternary sediments; 2) outcrops of the Phlegrean Fields; 3) rocks of Vesuvius volcano; 4) Appennine chain outcrops.

2 - Material and Methods

4In order to search for submerged sea-level indicators, the geomorphology of both the nearshore and the offshore zones of the study area (fig. 1) were studied using both remote and direct observations. The former exploited the 1: 30,000 bathymetric map by de Alteriiset al., (2006) plus some unpublished echographic lines taken during a special campaign (Sept. 24-27, 1996) with the Magnaghi oceanographic ship of the Italian Navy. Direct inspections were conducted up to 20 m b.s.l. and they were densely spaced around Vivara Island and limited to few control lines around Procida Island. The base map (figs. 2 and 3) uses a bathymetry obtained by refining the quoted 1:30,000 map with the new echographic and diving data. In those two figures we locate the small sea-level indicators found along the submerged cliff (fig. 2) and the wider terraces that occur at greater depths (fig. 3). By considering their mutual geomorphological relationships, all the above mentioned indicators were used to reconstruct a possible history of relative sea-level change. The occurrence of submerged artificial features contributed precious chronological constraints, but it required the co-operation of geologists and archaeologists during diving. To exactly locate the points of observation, geodetic measurements were taken by expert topographers, while elevations were measured with a precision of ± 30 cm. As measurements were not corrected for tidal change (mean s. l. ± 15 cm), the maximum total error at a point is 45 cm and the maximum total error in comparing depths taken at different places at different tidal moments is 90 cm.

Fig. 2 - Simplified bathymetry and places of major geoarchaeological interest

Fig. 2 - Simplified bathymetry and places of major geoarchaeological interest

Stars indicate the Bronze Age settlements discovered so far on land. Numbered black dots locate underwater archaeological sites. Grey strips with small letters indicate the places of detailed geological and geomorphologicalal diving surveys. The circle S denotes the place of underwater excavation.

Fig. 3 - Main submerged terraces in the southwestern part of the study area.

Fig. 3 - Main submerged terraces in the southwestern part of the study area.

Contour interval is 25 m on land and 5 m in the offshore zone. 1a) Terraces at -23/-26; -28/-30 and -45/-50 m; 1b) terraces at -20/-21.5 m; 1c) terraces at -18/-20 m; 1d) terraces at -16/-18 m; 1e) terraces at -13/-16 m; 1f) terrace at -4.5/-6 m. 2) Rim of small terraces. Capital letters indicate the terraces also shown in fig.7.

5Inside the Genito crater gulf, where levels of archaeological interest were suspected to occur underneath recent marine deposits, our geoarchaeological investigation also included a 3 m deep underwater excavation. The collected evidence ranges from geomorphic features large enough to be detected on bathymetric maps to much smaller forms that only diving inspections were able to reveal, especially along plunging coastal slopes. The latter category includes natural forms like coastal notches, submerged coastal caves, strips of beach deposits and abrasion platforms sometimes marked with extended fields of marine potholes. Ancient sea levels were also sometimes indicated by groups of drowned run-off furrows showing concordant lower terminations and/or concordant knick points, as well as by bollards, benches and stairs belonging to ancient landing places. These and other archaeological findings, both from land and the offshore area, were finally used to give age constraints to some steps of the reconstructed history of vertical movements and coastal changes.

3 - Data from the diving survey

3.1 - Geomorphological data from Vivara Island

6A steeply plunging cliff marks the coast all around the island. Said cliff, which is cut in the Vivara tuff, often has its true base masked by younger deposits that form gentler and more regular slopes (see isobaths in fig. 2). On the inner side of the Vivara crescent (Genito Gulf) the apparent cliff base is between -2.5 and -10 m, while near Punta Mezzogiorno a steep rocky slope descends up to -22 m; on the external side it is between -9 and -12 m. In the Genito Gulf, a little to the north of Punta Mezzogiorno, there is a small rock connected to the land by an abrasion platform that occurs at -1 m. In this area (site f) there is a clear sequence of palaeo-sea level marks at -1, -2.7, -3.5 and -6 m. Below it, starting from -9/-10 m, is a gently sloping accumulation of tuff boulders, moderately to well rounded. From -4 to -9 m an artificial stair, cut in the Vivara tuff, is also visible (cfr. section 4). A few meters south of that stair, a furrow incised by ancient running waters can be followed from almost 0 to about -6 m. Its longitudinal gradient is about 30° in the upper part, passes to about 80° below -2.7 m before presenting a gentle segment at -3.5 m. Also to the north of Punta Capitello (site p), clear evidence exists of drowned run-off furrows with lower terminations at -6 m. At site l some sub-vertical fractures in the rock facilitated the erosion of spindle-like caves. The fact that they enlarge markedly at the base, coupled with the presence of rounded tuff boulders, suggests a sea level stand at -9/-10 m. At site g an abrasion platform was found at -5.5 m together with a series of caves (sites h and i) whose base is at -5 m and whose entrance areas suggest widening by wave breakers. These signs appear coeval with a beach rock outcropping at -6.2 m in the bottom of Genito Gulf (site e). To the south of Punta Capitello there is another group of spindle-like caves whose base is at
-2.5/-3 m and whose sections show enlargements attributable to wave action both near the floor and at about -1 m (site a). The latter sea-level stand has also left notches and small abrasion platforms outside the caves (sites a,b,c,d). Marks of the sea level at -1 m cut across furrows previously excavated by running water. Some of these furrows end at a depth of -2.5 m (sites b, c), while others (with small potholes inside) continue down to -3.5 m (site a). At site S an excavation was also made through 3 m of decomposing algal remains and sands before reaching (at -10 m) a unit of fine eolian sands with abundant archaeological finds (cfr. section 4.3). Generally in the Genito Gulf wide terraces covered by thin recent sediment are observed at -4.5/-5.5 m, -13/-14 m, -16/-18 m and -20/-21 m (fig. 3).

7Along the external side of Vivara the foot of plunging sea cliff lies at depths between -9 and -12 m. Only near Punta Mezzogiorno a steep rocky slope persists as far as -32 m. Here the sea cliff shows two small abrasion platforms at ‑13/‑16 m (E in fig. 3). At site m an abrasion platform up to 10 m wide is present between - 4.4 and -6 m. Its inner portion also preserves many marine potholes, some of which have emissary channels directed towards the platform rim. Near Punta d’Alaca (site n) there are two different sea-levels (-3.5 m and -5.5 m) both punctuated by marine potholes and there is a clear abrasion platform at -9/-10 m with the presence of wide potholes. At -12 m a sharp transition takes place from the rocky coastal scarp to a sandy surface that descends very gently as far as -20 m (fig. 3). To the north of Punta d’Alaca, at the base of the cliff (about -12 m), there are some caves (site o) whose entrance sections suggest broadening by wave breakers. From Punta d’Alaca to Punta Capitello large sandy flats, densely vegetated by Posidonia oceanica occur at -13/-14, -14/-16, -18/‑20 and -20/-21.5 m (fig. 3). They are locally interrupted by moderate reliefs representing the remnants of ancient volcanic edifices. One of these reliefs, named “Le Formiche”, is marked by an abraded irregular top at about -4/-6 m  while its northern flank hosts two caves (site k) with signs of wave abrasion at -14/-16 and -18 m (Ferranti et al., 1994).

3.2 - Geomorphological data from Procida Island

8In the offshore zone of Procida Island the diving inspections were mainly concentrated around submerged archaeological remains and in areas requiring the verification of geomorphological features first deduced from bathymetric maps.

9All together, these inspections revealed the presence of clear palaeo sea-level marks at -1, -3.5, -5.5/6, -9 and - 13/- 14 m. Moreover, the steep slopes descending from the promontories of Punta Pizzaco and Punta Solchiaro down to -30/-50 m frequently showed gentler elements covered by sands and/or boulders between -18/-23 m. These deposits most likely mask ancient abrasion platforms attributable to the terraces occurring at about -20 m near Punta dei Monaci and on the northern offshore of Procida.

10The evidence of the -13/-14 m level includes an elongated outcrop of beach rock (running almost parallel to the current coastline) occurring near the northern end of the Ciraccio bay (site q) and some narrow but laterally continuous abrasion platforms located at -13.5/-14 m near the Solchiaro promontory (sites vandz). Such platforms appear locally covered by cemented debris deposits including well rounded cobbles and blocks. In the same area other small terraces are sometimes preserved at -9 m,  locally in association with potholes, and at -5.5/-6 m (sites t,z and u, these terraces are also evident at the archaeological site 6; cfr. section 4.3). At Fiumicello (site r) the base of the plunging sea cliff is at -13/-14 m and it is marked by ancient coastal caves and a wave notch at -13.5 m. At the same site, other small abrasion platforms were found at -5.5/-6 m. Near Punta Pioppeto (site s) the plunging sea cliff terminates at -9/-10  m and it is interrupted by small abrasion terraces at -5.3/-6 m, -3.5 m and -1 m.

3.3 - Archaeological data

11In terms of archaeological results the diving inspections revealed a number of man-made elements around Vivara and Procida Islands (Mocchegiani Carpano, 2001). Many of them are fashioned in the tuffaceous substrate rocks and all pertain to ancient landing places and other maritime activities such as fish processing. The most frequent kind of remains are the bollards, which are of two morphological types: cylindrical and ring shaped (fig. 4) In describing their present altimetric position, the depth of their base is given.  Signs of minor landing places were found at site 1 (Vivara’s northern coast) and at sites 7 and 9 (Solchiaro bay, Procida) in fig. 2. In the first case a group of five ring-shaped bollards occurs at -5 m, while a nearby furrow due to ancient fresh water flow continues down as far as -6 m. At site 7, at a depth of -17 m, there are three cylindrical bollards, one of which shows signs of consumption by docking ropes. At site 9 a group of three cylindrical bollards (30 cm across and 35 cm high) is present between -9 and -9.6 m.

Fig. 4 - Two morphological types of bollards.

Fig. 4 - Two morphological types of bollards.

A - cylindrical bollard, note that the bollard shows signs of consumption by docking ropes (Site 7). B - ring bollard (Site 10). Both have been carved into the tuffaceous substrate rocks.

12At sites 6, 10 and 11 (fig. 2), at about -4.5 m, bollards are generally ring shaped and rarely of the cylindrical type. In the vicinity of these bollards, ruins of rectangular rooms are found (5 x 8 m at site 11), whose floors and parts of the wall area are carved in the rock. Their pavements are crossed by small rectilinear channels radially converging towards a central pit which has an emissary channel directed towards the shore (fig. 5). The presence of such rooms suggests that these landing places were linked to fishing and fish processing activities.

Fig. 5

Fig. 5

Ruins of the rectangular rooms found at site 11.

13At site 8 there is a -1.5 m rectangular pool (1.5 x 3 m wide) cut into the tuff of a wide artificial bench at -1.5 m. The pool bottom has a longitudinal, central channel that inclines towards the ancient shore. Immediately down slope of that bench there are remnants of a large ogival tank whose bottom is at about -5 m. Originally, this tank was probably the destination of the channel coming from the pool.

14The slope on land of site 4 is crossed by an ancient pathway descending to the shore. Right below this point between -4 and -9 m, ruins of a stair carved into the local tuff were discovered. Better preserved steps are located in the upper part, which ends with a small bench at -6 m (fig. 6).

Fig. 6 - Ruins of a stair carved in the local tuff between -4 and -9 m.

Fig. 6 - Ruins of a stair carved in the local tuff between -4 and -9 m.

The photo shows the upper part between (-4 and -6 m), were the steps are better preserved and at the end of this part of stair a landing is present.

15The lower part has a higher mean-gradient and is more consumed. This suggests that the lower 3 m of the stair were first submerged and that a long pause occurred before relative sea-level rose further to submerge the whole stair. This interpretation is also supported by the fact that near the stair ancient running waters cut a furrow in the rock whose lower end is at -6 m.

16Stairs similar to those at site 4 also occur along the external flank of the Vivara volcanic crescent, but they are so badly preserved that it is impossible to precisely define their original lower terminations. At site 5, for example, there are two stairs whose corroded terminations are at -3 m.

17The Genito Gulf was affected by a sedimentary aggradation during the last millennia and this has hidden the traces of the first human activities in that harbour. However, the aforementioned site S excavation reached (at -10 m) the surface of an ancient coastal plain rich in pottery fragments, broken bones of mammals and small obsidian blocks. Based on the kinds of pottery, including proto-appenninici pottery fragments (Marazzi, 2001), this level can be set at the  beginning of the Middle Italian Bronze Age.

18Inspections at site 2 revealed, in front of a flat floored cave at -2.5 m, some holes that can be assigned to a woody closure of the cave itself. Moreover, at -0.5 m at site 3, a small squared bench was found cut in the Vivara tuff: it probably represents an ancient pier.

4 -Discussion

19Both the geology and geomorphology of the study area demonstrate that it was affected by remarkable faulting, but the wide terraces at about -20/-21 m clearly post-date such tectonics, as they extend undisturbed across the same faults. This allows altimetrical correlations between the sea-level indicators younger than the mentioned terraces.

20The criteria used to extract, from each type of indicator, the relative sea-level at a given time are reported in tab. 1. Taking into account their present position and also the ranges given in the second column of tab.1, in the diagram of fig. 7 we subdivide the surveyed indicators into 9 groups, each of them reflecting a different, relative palaeo sea-level.

Tab. 1

Type of sea-level indicator

Original position of indicators above (+) and/or below (-) sea level, in m

I

Notches

-0.5/+0.5 from the height of maximum concavity

II

Small abrasion platforms

-0.5/-1 from the inner/higher portion

III

Fields of coastal potholes

0/-1.5 from the potholes’ bottom (average)

IV

Coastal caves

-0.5/-1 from floors; +0.5/-0.5 from the height of notch-like enlargements

V

Beach rocks and cobbles

+1/-2.5 from the top of outcrop

VI

Wide terraces

Entire depth range to account also for terraces developed under a variable s. l.

VII

Furrows

0/+1 from lower terminations and from knick points

VIII

Site S supra-littoral sands

+1/+3 from the top of deposits

IX

Bollards

+0.5/+1.5 from their base

X

Stairs

+0.5/+1 from their lower termination or landing

XI

Landing benches and  piers

+0.5/+1 from surface top considering the small height of ancient boats

XII

Other buildings

At least +1.5/+2 from floor considering defence from inundation

Value ranges assumed to define the original altimetric position of the observed indicators. They have been used for corrections while going from the indicators back to the coeval palaeo sea-levels.

21The data in fig. 7 suggest a local sea-level history that alternated between periods of substantial stillstand and periods of more or less rapid change.

Fig. 7 - Bathymetric distribution of sea-level indicators marking ancient sea-level positions.

Fig. 7 - Bathymetric distribution of sea-level indicators marking ancient sea-level positions.

Small letters and numbers close to the symbols indicate sites of occurrence (see fig. 2 for location). Greek letters indicate the different orders of palaeo sea-levels. On the right margin of the diagram, relatively long sea-level stands are shown by thick rectangles, while short-lived ones are represented by thin rectangles.

22Among the various levels, the deepest ones are associated with wide terraces, suggesting sea-level stands of major duration. This is probably true, but the following should also be taken into account: these terrace phases cut through - and progressively dismantled - the soft pyroclastic deposits that originally enveloped the volcanic edifices; on the other hand, stands from δ to π brought the sea waves to attack the resistant Vivara and Solchiaro tuffs.

23As regards the chronology of the various palaeo sea-levels, the assumption that they occurred in sequence from the deepest to the shallowest is supported by both the geomorphological relationships between the level markers and the fact that no sign of exposure and dissection was noticed. An exception to this rule is the buried coastal plain found at -10 m in site S (cfr. section 4.1), if the progradation phase it witnesses (ε) was accompanied by some lowering of the sea level.

24In terms of ages, we propose to assign the level α to the first part of the Holocene high stand (last 5 ka; Lambeck et al., 2004) as the landforms it created are locally cut into pyroclastic rocks formed during OIS 2. The level α landforms were already partially drowned when the level β was attained. As the latter are linked with the bollards found at site 7, it can be reasonably ascribed to the initial part of the 2nd millennium B.C. by assuming that those bollards correlate with the first human settlements in the area (late part of the Early Bronze Age). All the coastal features between -16 and -l0 m can be assigned to the Middle Bronze Age on the basis of the archaeological content of the coastal sands found at -10 m at site S. Therefore, the terraces and notches of the γ and δ levels should represent stands of modest duration interrupting a period of prevailing transgression. The Middle Bronze Age episode ε could represent either a phase of sedimentary progradation during a period of relative stand or a phase of modest sea-level fall.

25For the following levels (κ, λ, μ, ο and π) we do not yet have reliable age constraints. By extending to the Vivara-Procida area the subsidence that affected some parts of the Phlegrean Fields during the last 2000 yrs (see Introduction), the level κ could be assigned to the Roman period. But to assume far range uniformity of tectonics in the complex Phlegrean district is unreliable. With regard to the widespread markers at -5.5/-6 m, (level λ) it is also worthy to note that the associated archaeological traces suggest a human presence due only to water provisioning by seamen, fishing and fish processing. As tuna fishing became the main source of income for Procida’s inhabitants during the Middle Ages, this could be the period when the level λ was recorded. The signs of the short lived stands μ and ο (-3.5 and -2.5 m) probably fall in the last centuries, and those at -1 m (π) can be assigned to the 19th century on the basis of coeval descriptions of coastal change.

Conclusion

26The present study, while proposing a new, younger age for the terraces at -20/-21 m (previously reputed older than the LGM by de Alteriis et al., 1994), allowed to recognize around Vivara and Procida Islands a stair of Late Holocene shorelines (level β) reaching up to -18 m due to the subsidence. The group of indicators β is the deepest ever found in association with archaeological remains in the Phlegrean district. It dates back to the beginning of the 2nd millennium B.C. As the Tyrrhenian Sea of that time was 3 to 4 m lower than today (Lambeck et al., 2004), a subsidence of about 15 m has subsequently occurred in the area.

27The palaeo-coastline at -18 m is coeval with the first human occupation of the study area, when the well protected crater harbors of Vivara and Procida attracted the Aegean-Mycenaean traders moving between the Eastern and the Western Mediterranean Sea (Marazzi, 1994).

28As the strait separating Vivara from Procida Islands is only a few meters deep and the one between Procida and the mainland does not exceed 14 m in depth, it appears very probable that, during the Early and Middle Bronze Age, the area was part of a peninsula stretching from the hills of Phlegrean Fields. This palaeogeographical hypothesis, that deserves additional controls in the strait west of Procida Island, could help to better explain why the Vivara-Procida area was chosen by the Aegean-Mycenaean merchants.

29Ancient maritime use of the area co-existed with the coastal changes caused by about 6 m of subsidence between the 18th to the 15th centuries B.C. After the pause or inversion that is evidenced by the coastal plain sediments of site S, the subsiding trend resumed again and, coupled with the 2.7 m rise suffered by the Tyrrhenian Sea since about 2.6 ka BP (Alessioet al., 1994), totalled the other 9 m of relative sea-level rise.

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List of illustrations

Title Fig. 1 - Location of the study area on a schematic geological map of the central Campania region.
Caption 1) Quaternary sediments; 2) outcrops of the Phlegrean Fields; 3) rocks of Vesuvius volcano; 4) Appennine chain outcrops.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/mediterranee/docannexe/image/2970/img-1.png
File image/png, 235k
Title Fig. 2 - Simplified bathymetry and places of major geoarchaeological interest
Caption Stars indicate the Bronze Age settlements discovered so far on land. Numbered black dots locate underwater archaeological sites. Grey strips with small letters indicate the places of detailed geological and geomorphologicalal diving surveys. The circle S denotes the place of underwater excavation.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/mediterranee/docannexe/image/2970/img-2.png
File image/png, 173k
Title Fig. 3 - Main submerged terraces in the southwestern part of the study area.
Caption Contour interval is 25 m on land and 5 m in the offshore zone. 1a) Terraces at -23/-26; -28/-30 and -45/-50 m; 1b) terraces at -20/-21.5 m; 1c) terraces at -18/-20 m; 1d) terraces at -16/-18 m; 1e) terraces at -13/-16 m; 1f) terrace at -4.5/-6 m. 2) Rim of small terraces. Capital letters indicate the terraces also shown in fig.7.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/mediterranee/docannexe/image/2970/img-3.png
File image/png, 224k
Title Fig. 4 - Two morphological types of bollards.
Caption A - cylindrical bollard, note that the bollard shows signs of consumption by docking ropes (Site 7). B - ring bollard (Site 10). Both have been carved into the tuffaceous substrate rocks.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/mediterranee/docannexe/image/2970/img-4.png
File image/png, 283k
Title Fig. 5
Caption Ruins of the rectangular rooms found at site 11.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/mediterranee/docannexe/image/2970/img-5.png
File image/png, 332k
Title Fig. 6 - Ruins of a stair carved in the local tuff between -4 and -9 m.
Caption The photo shows the upper part between (-4 and -6 m), were the steps are better preserved and at the end of this part of stair a landing is present.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/mediterranee/docannexe/image/2970/img-6.png
File image/png, 249k
Title Fig. 7 - Bathymetric distribution of sea-level indicators marking ancient sea-level positions.
Caption Small letters and numbers close to the symbols indicate sites of occurrence (see fig. 2 for location). Greek letters indicate the different orders of palaeo sea-levels. On the right margin of the diagram, relatively long sea-level stands are shown by thick rectangles, while short-lived ones are represented by thin rectangles.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/mediterranee/docannexe/image/2970/img-7.png
File image/png, 315k
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References

Bibliographical reference

Maria Luisa Putignano, Aldo Cinque, Alfredo Lozej and Claudio Mocchegiani Carpano, “Late Holocene ground movements in the Phlegrean Volcanic District (Southern Italy): new geoarchaeological evidence from the islands of Vivara and Procida”Méditerranée, 112 | 2009, 43-50.

Electronic reference

Maria Luisa Putignano, Aldo Cinque, Alfredo Lozej and Claudio Mocchegiani Carpano, “Late Holocene ground movements in the Phlegrean Volcanic District (Southern Italy): new geoarchaeological evidence from the islands of Vivara and Procida”Méditerranée [Online], 112 | 2009, Online since 01 January 2011, connection on 19 March 2024. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/mediterranee/2970; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/mediterranee.2970

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About the authors

Maria Luisa Putignano

Dipartimento di Scienze AmbientaliSeconda Università di Napoli - Casertamarialuisa.putignano@unina2.it

Aldo Cinque

Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra
Università di Napoli - Federico II

By this author

Alfredo Lozej

Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra
Università di Milano

Claudio Mocchegiani Carpano

Istituto Universitario Suor Orsola Benincasa
Napoli

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