The geomorphology of the Danube delta was significantly influenced by the past and recent human societies, in accordance with the versatile relationships established between natural environment and human activities since the late Holocene (e.g. Antiquity) period, with the transition from a strongly nature-dominated to an increasingly human-influenced environment.
This is a geoarchaeology project which purpose is to quantitatively characterize the relationships that existed between the natural environment (open coast / Danube delta / Danube embayment) and ancient societies, at different temporal and spatial scales, with a focus on the reconstruction of the landscape evolution and its impact on (four) ancient human settlements dynamics: Argamum, Enisala, Halmyris, and Caraorman. Geoarchaeological approach is by itself interdisciplinary, corroborating geographical, geologic, biologic, archaeologic and anthropologic data and methods with the specific aim to highlight the way human societies have interacted with the natural environment. To do this, two inter-related study themes will be developed with reference to the sensitive coastal and deltaic landscapes. The first theme deals mainly with the evolution of the pre-deltaic coast and of the deltaic landscape. The second theme concerns the adaptation of societies to the environmental changes.
This proposal is intended to be the first geoarcheological approach of the most controversial area of the Danube delta in terms of genesis and evolution (Zenkovich, 1956, Panin, 1976, 2003, Giosan et al., 2006, Vespremeanu-Stroe et al., 2013). It extends northward to include Caraorman beach ridge plain (central delta) and to the South up to Histria Greek city (southern delta). Common to these distal points is the time interval when the oldest marine sediments (sourced from the North Black Sea basin) accumulated to form the first beach ridge plains from the Danube delta (i.e. Caraorman and Saele), just after the Black Sea level stabilization, ca. 6000 yrs ago (Preoteasa et al., 2013). An intriguing aspect here is the much younger age of surface sediments composing different features (barriers / delta plain) obtained up to this moment (1.3 – 1.9 ka on Lupilor beach ridge, 1.6 – 2.1 ka on Dunavăţ deltaic plain cf. Giosan et al., 2006 and Vespremeanu-Stroe et al., 2013) which proofs the tangled evolution of this particular area even after its transformation from marine to coastal setting as a consequence of deltaic processes (channel meandering, river avulsion, lobe switching) at one hand at of neo-tectonic activity at the other hand. Human settlements as old as 2650 years BP have been documented over this area (and ruins of different ages are still in place) with a marked geopolitical change ca. 2600 years ago once with the Greek arrival on the western Black Sea coast at Histria and Argammun . Recent evidences from the neighboring area at the south (Lupilor barrier – Histria – Cape Midia) document intense neotectonic activity (sometimes in relation with seismic events) as drivers for the major changes of the landscape configuration (Preoteasa et al., 2012, 2013). Therefore, high resolution multidisciplinary data (e.g. chronostratigraphical, geophysical, geomorphological, palynological, historical) are needed to be inter-related in order to obtain a fine tuned picture of this region evolution so that to stand as evidence for the yet unknown role the natural factors (coastal, fluvial, neotectonic) and human societies played in shaping the morphology of this region. The detailed studies of the relationships between ancient societies and environment dynamics in the Danube delta has been previously addressed just in few cases: Histria (Preoteasa et al., 2012, 2013; Vespremeanu-Stroe et al., 2013), Taraschina (Micu et al., 2010; Carozza et al., 2012) providing information on human activity in this area since Neolithic (ca. 4500 years BC).
The proposed research will be articulated on archaeological sites that have already been the subject of detailed archeological studies – Argamum (Mănucu-Adameșteanu, 1996, 1999, 2001), Enisala (Babeş, 1971; Mănucu-Adameşteanu, 1984; Simion, 1977; Airinei, 1977), Halmyris (Zahariade, 1999) or, by contrast, on systems that require additional archaeological research as Caraorman.
Particular emphasis will be paid to the spatial variability of each ancient settlement extension and/or relocation function of natural and social constrains. Most recent evidences were provided by our geoarchaeological investigations in Histria region which support a new model of the coastal and deltaic landscape changes in the southern delta mainly triggered by intense neotectonic processes (Preoteasa et al., 2013, Vespremeanu-Stroe et al., 2013). However, the new study site (Caraorman beach ridge plain (North) – Crasnicol barrier (East) – Lupilor and Zmeica barriers (South) – Cape Doloşman – Babadag Plateau – Tulcei Hills (West) had a complicated geomorphic evolution which still remains unclear and in debate (Panin, 2003; Giosan et al., 2006; Vespremeanu-Stroe, 2013) and needs to be documented at a higher resolution.
The scope of this research project is not to produce only empirical data on the yet highly debated Holocene timing of the Danube delta development (Panin, 1976, 2003; Giosan et al., 2006; Panin and Overmars, 2012; Carozza et al., 2012; Preoteasa et al., 2012, 2013; Vespremeanu-Stroe et al., 2013) or on the chronology of ancient settlements that existed in the Danube delta (Mănucu-Adameșteanu, 1996, Simion, 1971), but especially to (build/strength knowledge) reveal the role that landscape changes played in the evolution of the ancient human settlements (constraints and potentialities of development) and, conversely, to assess the impact magnitude of human activities on the deltaic environment.