GEOARCHAEOLOGY AND ANCIENT HARBORS: INSIGHTS FROM THE SUBMERGED HELLENISTIC (~2,200 BP) HARBOR AT AKKO, ISRAEL

While many of the important harbors of the ancient world are no longer visible, largely having been submerged, uplifted, landlocked, or otherwise destroyed, significant information can still be gathered from these past cultural centers. Geoarchaeological studies of sediments from ancient harbors can provide insights into past anthropogenic practices and environmental conditions, such as construction techniques, trade practices, and sea-level changes. This research employs a geoarchaeological approach to investigate the nature of a sediment layer extending beneath the currently submerged Hellenistic (3^rd-1^st centuries BCE) harbor at Akko on the northern Mediterranean coast of Israel. A fine-grained sediment layer containing abundant Hellenistic anthropogenic remains, including potsherds, intact ceramic vessels, metal artifacts, and marble sculpture remains, was continuously identified during excavations beneath the harbor installations and near the structures’ edges. Sediment samples were collected from two areas beneath the ancient harbor’s quay and compared to control samples from a nearby transect extending from 3 meters above sea level on the beach down to a water depth of 21.8 meters offshore. Granulometry, organic and carbonate contents, elemental composition, and micropaleontological analysis revealed that the sediment from beneath the harbor installations did not match the local coastal or marine sediments and instead was characterized by a variety of grain sizes (clay through coarse sand) and compositions (mixed marine and terrestrial origins). These inconclusive sedimentological results paired with the abundant anthropogenic remains suggest an artificial origin for the sediment, likely a construction fill. The thickness of this fill layer and the construction technique of the overlying quay also provide an idea of the potential location of the coastline at the time of the harbor’s construction. A characteristically marine rubble foundation construction and a thicker (51 cm) sediment layer were observed near the edge of the quay, while 30 m away and closer to shore a terrestrial header construction and thinner (33 cm) sediment layer were identified. These results provide important insights on ancient harbor construction techniques and local coastal morphology ~2,200 years ago.