Refining Late-Holocene environmental changes of the Akko coastal plain and its impacts on the settlement and anchorage patterns of Tel Akko (Israel)

A new palaeogeographical reconstruction of the Akko coastal plain reveals that environmental changes, particularly sedimentary input and coastal progradation, significantly influenced the anchorage and settlement patterns at Tel Akko. The study found that the main anchorage areas shifted from the southern part of the tell during the 2nd Millennium BCE to the western area in the late-1st Millennium BCE (Phoenician-Persian period). This shift was likely a response to changing coastal dynamics, which also influenced settlement patterns noted in archaeological excavations. The research combines sedimentological and faunal analyses of radiocarbon-dated cores with ground-penetrating radar investigations and ceramic sherd identification to provide an up-to-date understanding of how the local population adapted to environmental pressures over time.

Giaime, M., Artzy, M., Jol, H. M., Salmon, Y., López, G. I., & Abu Hamid, A. (2022). Refining Late-Holocene environmental changes of the Akko coastal plain and its impacts on the settlement and anchorage patterns of Tel Akko (Israel). Marine Geology, 447, 106778. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2022.106778