Bronze Age Regression and Change of Sedimentation on the Aegean Coastal Plains of Anatolia (Turkey)

Abstract

Borehole studies indicate three stratigraphical units in the Holocene sediments on the Aegean coastal plains of Anatolia. These are early Holocene shallow marine-estuarine muds al the bottom, fine sandy-silty flood-plain sediments al the top, and a transition layer between them. The transition layer, a few meters thick and a few meters below the present sea-level, generally consists of the coarse sandy sediments of shallow coastal environments. C-14 datings show that the change in sedimentation occurred during the third millennium BC In addition, relative sea-level fell a few meters during the same period, which accelerated deltaic progression. The transition layer has similar characteristics all along the coastal plains investigated, indicating that the change in sedimentation is a result of normal geomorphological development dependent on sea-level changes; local or regional tectonic movements and sediment compactions are not important here. Climatic-ecstatic sea-level changes may be considered the best explanation for the sedimentation change.