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K. Lambeck et al. / Quaternary Science Reviews 23 (2004) 1567–1598
correspond to MIS 5.5. Thus, Marettimo Island appears
to have been stable since the Last Interglacial.
19–20. Orosei and northern Sardinia: A great number
of well-conserved palaeo-shorelines have been discov-
ered in northern Sardinia on the continental shelf up to
depths of À120 m. De Muro and Orru" (1998) observed
beach deposits (sandstone and conglomerates) on an
erosional platform of crystalline bedrock at depths
ranging from 0 to 55 m from two main localities; Orosei
(19), and northern Sardinia (20). Beach rock has been
sampled at a number of sites on the northern Sardinia
continental shelf where it does not exhibit active erosive (Cherubini et al., 2000). The inner margins of MIS 5.5
morphologies. The chronology has been established
from 14C dating of the carbonate matrix that was
considered to correspond to early-stage magnesium-
calcite cementation, with samples ranging in age from
0.2 up to 9.7 ka cal. BP at progressively deeper depths of lie inland from the plain so that this tectonic uplift
0–29 m below present sea level. Because the matrix ages
must be considered as uncertain and likely to be younger
than measured, we have adopted large lower limit
uncertainties for the depth estimates and we adopt the
depth error bars of +1 and À5 m published by De Muro
and Orru" (1998). Pleistocene marine deposits and
notches that correlate with MIS 5.5 occur at elevations
of 3.5–10.5 m along the coastline and Sardinia is
assumed to be tectonically stable.
21. Cape Caccia–Grotta Verde: Cape Caccia is a
mainly limestone promontory located on the north-
western side of Sardinia. The Grotta Verde is a large
cave at the end of which is a lake that is directly
connected to the sea. A now-submerged Early Neolithic
burial site has been discovered at À8.5 m. The archae-
ological style of a nearby settlement allows the age to be
established as 7.072 ka BP (Antonioli et al., 1996b) and
local sea level was lower than À8.5 m at this time. The
promontory, bordered by steep cliffs, is cut by a
notch associated with characteristic MIS 5.5 fauna at
between 3.5 and 5.4 m above mean sea level. Also, two
phreatic speleothems, located at 4.2–4.3, metres above
present sea level have been sampled in Nettuno Cave
(500 m from Grotta Verde) and U–Th TIMS dated
at B11772 and 12072 ka, respectively (Tuccimei
et al., 2000). Thus we conclude that this promontory
has also been tectonically stable (or very slowly
subsiding at À0.0270.03 mm yrÀ1d) during the last
glacial cycle.
22. Capo Rizzuto: The site of Chiacolilli, located near interval from 26 to 52 m with radiocarbon-based ages of
Capo Rizzuto bordering the Ionian sea, was investigated
by Pirazzoli et al. (1997) who sampled and dated a
calcareous algae in growth position that covered beach
rock at an altitude of 0.6 m. Radiocarbon analysis
provided an age (uncorrected for d13C) of 2.7 ka cal. BP.
The inner margin of MIS 5.5 terraces, a few km from
coastline occurs at an altitude between 84 and 110 m
(Bordoni and Valensise, 1998) yielding an average uplift
rate of about 0.7370.11 mm yrÀ1.
23. Sybaris: Archaeological excavations on the
alluvial plain of Sybaris have led to the identification
of three superimposed levels of occupancy from the 6th
to the 1st century BC: ancient Sibari, the Hellenistic
town of Thurium, and Roman Copia. This plain forms a
graben that runs in an ENE-WSW direction, bordered
by regional fault systems. The upper part of this
depression is filled with B400 m of deposits consisting
of sands including fine clay-sands and peat levels at
various depth. A core from the plain yielded 14C-based
ages in the interval 5.3–11.1 ka cal. BP for peats and
marsh deposits from depths of 3–55 m below sea level
terraces occurs at an altitude of 115 m (in Bordoni
and Valensise, 1998) giving an uplift rate of
0.8770.06 mm yrÀ1. However the core sites lie within a
fault-bounded plain while the inner margin observations
estimate may be too high.
24. Egnazia: Egnazia is an old town located near
Brindisi (Apulia) with periods of occupation from
proto-historic age to late ancient-medieval time. Aur-
iemma (2002) identified a caisson used in harbour
construction that bears a well-defined relationship to
mean sea level and whose historic age is Roman or
about 2030 yr BP. Its positional relationship indicates
that sea level at this time was 3 m below present level
(data uncorrected for tide). The MIS 5.5 inner margin
altitude in this area is unclear and lacks an age
determination. Values of between 4 and 30 m above
sea level are given in Bordoni and Valensise (1998). For
the present we adopt a mean elevation of 15 and slow
uplift of 0.0870.11 mm yrÀ1.
25. North Adriatic cores: The northern part of the
Adriatic Sea is characterized by a shallow sea-bottom
morphology (at 30–50 m depth) with sediments depos-
ited by the Po River in the immediate offshore area. The
low shelf gradient and the lower sediment input near the
central part of the basin results in significant landward
shifts of depositional environments at times of sea-level
rise. In consequence, successive backstepping sequences
do not completely overlap. Furthermore, transgressive
deposits are not always covered by younger highstand
sediments and they can, therefore, be selectively sampled
using conventional gravity and piston coring (Correg-
giari et al., 1997). Sediment cores from a number of sites
have yielded 23 depth–age data points within the depth
9.3–12.9 ka cal. BP. The sample depths within any core
are mostly within 1 or 2 m below the sea floor and never
exceed 5 m, even for the oldest samples, indicating low
sedimentation rates at these localities.
The coastal zone of the northern Adriatic Sea appears
to be mostly a region of subsidence with MIS 5.5
deposits always occurring below present sea level. For
example, in cores near the coast at Ravenna, Last