Maritime and Coastal Archaeology

Maritime and coastal archaeology reconstructs the relationship between human societies and the sea by studying submerged landscapes, shipwrecks, ancient harbours, and the physical changes coastlines have undergone since the end of the last ice age. Because sea levels have shifted dramatically over the Holocene, many of the ports, settlements, and trade routes that shaped Mediterranean civilizations now lie beneath the water's surface, accessible only through underwater excavation and geoarchaeological analysis of sediment, rock, and biological markers like tidal notches. Recovering this record matters not only for understanding how past societies organized maritime trade and colonization, but also for gauging how coastal communities adapted—or failed to adapt—to environmental change. Active research is working to distinguish slow geological processes from abrupt human-driven landscape transformation, and to develop frameworks for protecting submerged cultural heritage as rising seas and coastal development continue to disturb sites before they can be studied.

Works

222,929

Total citations

387,841

Keywords

MediterraneanMaritime ArchaeologySea-Level ChangeAncient HarboursUnderwater Cultural HeritageGeoarchaeology