Page 4 - Vacchi_Marriner_2016

M. Vacchi et al. / Earth-Science Reviews 155 (2016) 172–197 175

Fig. 2. Tectonic framework of the western Mediterranean. Faults are modified after Faccenna et al. (2014). Squares indicate the average elevation of MIS 5e shorelines (data from Ferranti
et al. (2006); Pedoja et al. (2014)). Dots denote the ongoing GPS-derived vertical movements along the Mediterranean coast (data from Serpelloni et al. (2013)). CO, Corsica; SA, Sardinia;
SI, Sicily. Al, Alicante; Va, Gulf of Valencia; Ed, Ebro Delta; Ll, Llobregat Delta; Cc, Cap Creus; Ca, Cap d'Agde; Rh, Rhone Delta; Pc, Port Cros; Fj, Frejus; Ge, Genova; Sz, La Spezia; Vs, Versilia
plain; Ar, Arno river; Pn, Pianosa Island; Cv, Civitavecchia, CV; Ti, Tiber Delta; Fo, Fondi plain; P, Pontine Archipelago; Vp, Volturno plain; Na, Naples volcanic district; Sp; Sele plain; Cv, Capo
Vaticano; Ms, Messina Strait; Mt, Marettimo Island; Pl, Capo Gallo; Ma, Marsala sound; Ct, Catania; Sy, Syracuse; Mf, Monfalcone; Vl, Venice lagoon; Pd, Po Delta; Rp, Romagna coastal plain;
Ps, Pescara; Sg, Sangro plain; Gp, Gargano promontory; Md, Gulf of Manfredonia.

Lambeck et al. (2004b) reported an extensive analysis of fish tanks in least 0.3 m below the upper limit of in situ fixed marine organisms
the Tyrrhenian Sea, and calculated Roman RSL at ~−1.3 m MSL. The (Serpulidae spp, Cladocora caespitosa and Ostrea spp.).
archaeological interpretation was based on both field surveys and on In contrast to the late Holocene, there is comparatively less data for
the analysis of original Latin descriptions. Important features in the early to mid-Holocene RSL changes in the western Mediterranean.
fish-tank architecture are: i) the sluice gate (cataracta) that controlled Lambeck and Bard (2000), compiled a comprehensive assessment of
water exchange between the tanks and the open sea, while not permit- RSL variations in southern France for the last 30 ka BP. Similarly,
ting the fish to escape; ii) channels that assured water exchange, some- Correggiari et al. (1996), Lambeck et al. (2004a, 2011) and Antonioli
times carved into the rocky bedrock; iii) foot-walks (walking surfaces, et al. (2009) assessed the postglacial RSL changes along the Italian pen-
crepidines) delimiting the fish tank basin and generally occurring at insula and Croatia. RSL history since the mid-Holocene has been inves-
two or three levels (Schmiedt, 1972). tigated in France (e.g., Laborel et al., 1994; Vella and Provansal, 2000),
Lambeck et al. (2004b) proposed that the upper limit of RSL in Tunisia (e.g., Jedoui et al., 1998; Morhange and Pirazzoli, 2005), Corsica
Roman times was 0.2 m below the lowest walking surface (crepido). and Sardinia (e.g., Laborel et al., 1994; Antonioli et al., 2007). Significant
Lambeck et al. (2004b) and subsequently Auriemma and Solinas sea-level data have also been collected as part of coastal investigations
(2009) suggested that the flow of water inside the fish tanks was tidally with other purposes, for example, studies of Holocene environmental
controlled by the paleo mean lower water denoted by the channel changes in marshes and coastal lagoons in Spain (e.g., Dupré et al.,
thresholds, often corresponding to the base of the mobile cataracta. 1988; Marco-Barba et al., 2013), France (e.g., Raynal et al., 2010;
Such an archeological interpretation has since been applied to a number Sabatier et al., 2010), Sardinia (e.g., Di Rita and Melis, 2013; Orrù et al.,
of other coastal areas in the western Mediterranean (e.g., Antonioli 2014), Tunisia (e.g., Lakhdar et al., 2006; Zaîbi et al., 2011) as well as
et al., 2007, 2011; Anzidei et al., 2011). along the Adriatic (e.g., McClennen and Housley, 2006; Caldara and
Evelpidou et al. (2012) also performed a detailed survey of the Simone, 2005) and Tyrrhenian (e.g., Di Rita et al., 2010; Sacchi et al.,
Tyrrhenian Sea's fish tanks proposing that RSL in the Roman period 2014)coastsof Italy.
ranged between ~−0.6 and ~−0.3 m MSL. These authors disagreed We further used sea-level data provided by studies focused on
with the interpretation of an original supratidal position for the lowest neotectonics and paleo-tsunami impacts in Sicily (e.g., De Martini
crepido stating that the height of the cataracta proposed by Lambeck et al., 2010; Gerardi et al., 2012) and along the Adriatic coast
et al. (2004b) would not have been sufficient for the fish tanks to func- (e.g., Furlani et al., 2011; Marriner et al., 2014). Other coastal studies
tion properly. Furthermore, Evelpidou et al. (2012) stated that the chan- with sea-level data have focused on the sedimentary evolution of
nel threshold and the base of the cataracta can be located at any depth in large deltas (e.g., Somoza et al., 1995; Vella et al., 2005; Amorosi et al.,
the basin and, therefore, they cannot be considered a reliable sea-level 2008a) and other major coastal plains (e.g., Dubar and Anthony, 1995;
indicator. More recently, Morhange et al. (2013) used the palaeo- Rossi et al., 2011; Milli et al., 2013). Finally, we extracted sea-level
biological zoning of fixed marine fauna inside a Roman fish tank at data from cores undertaken within the framework of the recently up-
Frejus (France) to infer RSL at that time. They suggested that, at Frejus, dated Italian Geological Maps (e.g. Cibin and Stefani, 2009; Sarti et al.,
the fixed gates were built in subtidal position and were positioned at 2009).