Microsoft Word - 00_indice_BM03 Available online http:/amq.aiqua.it ISSN (print): 2279-7327, ISSN (online): 2279-7335 Alpine and Mediterranean Quaternary, 25 (1), 2012, 41-55 SEA LEVEL AND PALEOENVIRONMENT DURING ROMAN TIMES INFERRED FROM COASTAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES IN TRIESTE (NORTHERN ITALY) Romana Melis1, Stefano Furlani2,1, Fabrizio Antonioli3, Sara Biolchi1,4, Valentina Degrassi5 & Karin Mezgec1 1 Dipartimento di Matematica e Geoscienze, Università di Trieste, Italy 2 Dipartimento di Geoscienze, Università di Padova, Italy 3 ENEA, ACS, Italy 4 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Italy 5 Archeotest Srl, Trieste, Italy Corresponding author: S. Furlani ABSTRACT: Paleoenvironment and sea level markers have been studied from new and published data at two archaeological sites in Trieste. Results allowed to locate the Roman Age shoreline, presently buried under the city. Archaeological data clearly indicate the presence of a well-organized Roman Age seaside, which gradually moved offshore. Imperial Roman Age structures have been found at the site located close to the Curia building. Archaeological finds indicate the subsequent widening of the seafront. During the 1st century BC, a stone wall parallel to the coast already existed at the back of a sandy beach. After the widening of the city, a large quay was built and the seafront moved offshore, covering the former Imperial Age struc- tures. The quay was used up the 4th century AD. Late Roman Age structures have been found at the site called Cavazzeni. The period when the site was abandoned is clearly in- dicated by the construction of the Medieval walls overtopping the Roman Age structures. The presence of two docks located just in front of the site are reported in several sketches, maps and historical sources dated at the 16th-17th century. Microfaunistic composition of sediments indicates that protected sectors of the harbour were built in order to allow the recovering of ships and other coastal activities. Archaeological finds together with paleoenvironmental data suggest that vertical tectonic movements in the urban area of Trieste are significantly lower in respect of the Northern Adriatic. In fact, the presence of marine deposits with bad-preserved microfossils at ele- vations higher than present-day mean sea level is related to the possible occurrence of a violent storm or a tsunami event. For the latter case, radiocarbon date suggests a possible correlation to the 361 AD earthquake occurred along the Eastern Adriatic coasts. Keywords: Urban archaeology, microfossils, sea level curves, Trieste, Italy. 1. INTRODUCTION Archaeological sites along the Mediterranean coasts have undergone consistent environmental changes. In particular, the rapid sea level rise occurred during the Early Holocene has required continuous adaptations of human settlements to the alteration of the natural settings (Pirazzoli, 1996; Di Bella et al., 2011). To this end, several multidisciplinary proxies from archaeological and geologi- cal disciplines are generally used to define these changes (Lambeck et al., 2004a; Marriner & Morhange, 2007; An- tonioli et al., 2009). Among them, the study of the coastal bioindicators (microfaunae) recorded in sediments and deposits of archaeological interest allow to reconstruct the ancient coastal paleoenvironments. The microfaunae of these environments consist of foraminifers, ostracods and mollusks (bivalves and gastropods) well known in the Mediterranean coastal areas (Pérès & Picard, 1964; Bo- naduce et al., 1975; Pérès, 1982; Jorissen, 1988; Cimer- man & Langer, 1991; Sgarrella & Moncharmont Zei, 1993; Montenegro et al., 1998). The coastal geoarchaeo- logy uses these faunae to identify the paleoenvironments (rivers, swamps, marshes, lagoons, marine settings) close to human settlements, as already demonstrated in similar Mediterranean coastal archaeological sites (e.g. Rein- hardt et al., 1994 and Sivan et al., 1999 in Israel; Pugliese et al., 1999 at the Aquileia harbour, for Italy; Goiran et al., 2005; Bernasconi et al., 2006; Bernasconi et al., 2007; Stanley et al., 2008 (a, b) for the coastal settings of Egypt; Marriner & Morhange, 2007, for general Mediterranean review; Amato et al., 2009 and Bernasconi et al., 2010; Di Bella et al., 2011; Mazzini et al., 2011 for Italian geoar- chaeology; Ghilardi et al., 2011 for Greece). Paleoen- vironmental data may integrate or improve data derived from geology and geomorphology and, in the end, they provide useful information to evaluate local sea level changes. Sea-level change is the sum of eustatic, glacio- hydro-isostatic and tectonic movements (Lambeck et al., 2004a). While the first is global and time-dependent, the latter two varies with location, sediment load, compac- tion and anthropogenic factors; the tectonic factors in- clude all movements that are not eustatic and isostatic (Lambeck et al., 2004a), the glacio-hydro-isostatic com- ponent of post-glacial sea-level rise has been recently predicted and compared with field data at several coastal sites all over the Italian coasts (Lambeck et al., 2004a; Antonioli et al., 2007, 2009; Faivre et al., 2011). The results represent an useful framework for calculat- ing vertical tectonic movements. Melis R. et al. 42 The study of the sea-level changes during the Late Holocene in the Northeastern Adriatic Sea has been studied by a number of Authors (Degrassi, 1957; D’Am- brosi, 1958; Fouache et al., 2000; Antonioli et al., 2004, 2007; Benac et al., 2004, 2008; Faivre et al., 2011; Degrassi et al., 2008; Furlani et al., 2011). Several geo- morphologic, biological and archaeological markers have been used as source of information from which the relative movements between land and sea can be eval- uated. Regarding this area, previous studies evidenced that Holocene submersion was largely completed about 7 ka (cal) BP and that subsequently the sea level rose slowly up to the current elevation (Antonioli et al., 2007, 2009). Moreover, marine notches or marine fossils have never been found in this sector at elevation higher than the present mean sea level, excluding a site with marine shells found by Antonioli & Furlani (2006) nearby Pola, at +0.70 m m.s.l. On the whole, recent archaeological, geomorphological and geophysical data indicate for this area a vertical tectonic signal at a rate of about -0.75 mm/yr occurring during the last two millennia. It produc- es a significant downward displacement of the coastline of about 1.5 m / 1.8 m since Roman Age (Antonioli et al., 2007, 2009). On the contrary, Degrassi et al. (2008) and Furlani et al. (2011) suggested that, in the same lapse of time, the urban area of Trieste should be rela- tively stable in respect of the Northeastern Adriatic. The micropaleontological and archaeological re- sults presented in this work aim to refine previous inves- tigations in Trieste and both to add more information on the Roman Age sea-level and the anthropogenic varia- tion of the shoreline. 2. THE STUDY AREA 2.1. Geological and geomorphological background The city of Trieste (Fig. 1) is located in the Eastern part of the homonymous Gulf (NE Italy). The city lies on an Eocene turbiditic succession (Flysch of Trieste), Lutetian in Age (Bensi et al., 2007, Tirelli et al., 2008). The area is part of the External Dina- rides and is affected by a series of thrusts which made the Cretaceous-Tertiary car- bonate succession overlaying the Eocene turbiditic one. The compressional tectonics caused by the Dinaric orogeny (Late Juras- sic-Early Oligocene) produced the deve- lopment of NW-SE oriented and SW ver- ging thrusts and the relative foredeep, with flexuring of the Mesozoic carbonate and filling by the Eocene Flysch. Late compres- sional phases also involved the Flysch se- quence in the thrusts (Doglioni & Bosellini, 1987; Castellarin et al., 1992). A thrust system crossing the Gulf of Trieste with Dinaric orientation, has been recently found from a multichannel seismic survey (Busetti et al., 2008, 2010). The sys- tem represents the most external Dinaric thrusts. It is characterized by intense de- formation, in particular within the Eocene Flysch sequences. It is affected by tectonic activity lasting to the Plio-Quaternary. The structure deepens toward the northwest, probably due to the offset of NE-SW faults: the Monte Spaccato Fault parallel to the Northern Istrian coast (Cavallin et al., 1978; Carobene & Carulli, 1981), and a possible fault zone lo- cated in the middle of the Gulf, separating the Northern part from the Southern part (Busetti et al., 2008, 2010). According to Carulli (2011), the Monte Spaccato and Sis- tiana faults can be responsible for the formation of the Gulf of Trieste. Modelling of gravity data in the gulf of Trieste and Karst area interpreted the minimum values occurring in the Northern corner of the gulf as due to the deepening toward Northwest of the limestones and to the increase of Flysch thickness (Coren et al., 2006). Northwestward tilting of the Karst area and its surroundings is confirmed also by geodetic data (Braitenberg et al., 2005). From a geomorphological point of view, Trieste widens on a succession of ridges and valleys, the latter filled by Quaternary alluvial and marine deposits. Coastal archaeological remains are usually built at the Flysch cliff-foot. Alluvial deposits are mainly produced by small temporary streams which flow to the sea, sometimes close to the archaeological sites. 2.2. Archaeological background Regarding the presence of Roman Age remains in Trieste, the archaeological findings discovered in the last decades during urban excavations deeply improved the knowledge of the Roman town (Maselli Scotti, 2008). Since 16th century, local historians highlighted the presence of block alignments, wooden poles and harbour structures; coastal remains have been usually Fig. 1 - Study area. Geological map of the urban area of Trieste (modified from Tirelli et al., 2008) with the location of the archaeological sites. On the upper left-hand, a tectonic sketch of the Gulf of Trieste showing major thrusts and faults in relation to the city of Trieste is reported (modified from Busetti et al., 2008; Carulli et al., 2011; Furlani et al., 2011). Satellite images have been taken from Google Maps. Sea level and paleoenvironment during Roman times inferred from coastal … 43 reported at many sites in Trieste. Maselli Scotti (2008) suggested that the landfills between Roman Age coastal structures were built at increasing steps, using sandstone blocks for the construction of retaining walls. Imperial Age structures (late 1st century BC – early 1st century AD) are usually covered by Late Roman Age walls, the latter lying below recent buildings. The maritime vocation of Trieste during Roman Age is proven by the ex- istence of two harbours (Maselli Scotti, 2008). Large remains of two docks (Fig. 2A), as part of the so called “porto es- terno”, which correspond to the present- day San Marco dock basin, were clearly visible during the 18th century, as de- scribed by Ireneo della Croce (1698). They were composed by two large sea walls: the Southwestern one was arch- shaped; it connected the coast to a small island, called "il Zucco", now completely covered by the 17th century landfills, while the northernmost is now included in a present-day dock. The architectural project for the construction of the lazaret - project of the ÖKW, Wien, 1821- de- scribes the presence of an ancient dam- aged dock which were ruined by storms (Fig. 2B). This structure emerged during low tides. The seaside of the inner har- bour was found in correspondence of Cavana (Ventura et al., 2008) and Cavazzeni street. Local archaeological Superintendence found several sand- stone blocks belonging to the Roman Age docks. The existence of a small harbour was suggested from historical maps that show two semi-submerged and ruined piers. They were included in the landfill for the widening of the city and nowadays they lay below modern buildings. Archaeologi- cal remains are part of the Roman Age harbour, which presently lies below the 20th century buildings. 3. METHODS In 2008-2010, during the renovation works car- ried out in Trieste by the “Sovrintendenza per i Beni Archeologici del Friuli Venezia Giulia” (F. Maselli Scotti and P. Ventura excavation director), two archeological sites at “Cavazzeni” Street and in “Piazzetta S.ta Lu- cia”, close to the “Curia” Palace (Fig. 1), were discov- ered. Four bulk samples of sediments, corresponding to different archaeological stratigraphic units (US) were collected at the “Cavazzeni” site, along a 1.50 m thick vertical section. Additional 10 samples were col- lected at the “Curia” site, along a 1.50 m thick vertical section (Fig. 3, 4). The collected samples were washed using re- spectively 2 mm and 0.063 mm sieves, both to sepa- rate the gravelly and the sandy fraction. Finally, the sediments were dried in an oven and weighted. The foraminifers were determined in the 0.063 – 2.0 mm sieving fraction. Species counts were performed and recorded as number of specimens of each taxon, re- ported as percentage in Tables 1 and 2. Selected specimens were examined and photographed by a Leica Scanning Electron Microscope at the University of Trieste (Plate I). Identification of foraminifer species follows the Mediterranean systematic suggested by Le Calvez & Le Calvez (1958), Jorissen (1988), Cimer- man & Langer (1991), Levy et al. (1992), Hottinger et al., (1993) and Sgarrella & Moncharmont Zei (1993). For the consultation of the original taxa description, the Ellis and Messina online catalogue on for aminifera was used (http://www.micropress. org/). Interpretation of the paleoenvironment was estab- lished by the comparison of the foraminiferal assem- blages examined here and the ecological significance of other associations from several Mediterranean coastal areas: Tyrrhenian sea (Vismara Schilling & Ferretti, 1987; Sgarrella & Moncharmont Zei, 1993; Bellotti et al., 1994), Adriatic sea (Albani & Serandrei Barbero, 1990; Fig. 2 - Ancient maps of Trieste. A) Unknown Author, 1745. Map from the Project for the construction of the Borgo dei Santi Martiri and the new pier “Zucco”. Two piers are visible just in front of the Cavana area (Riavez, 1995); B) Unknown Author, 1821. Map from the Project for the construction of the lazaret, Wien ÖKW, with the description of an ancient pier “vestigii d’un anticho molo che fu rovinato dagli garbini, e va con- ducendo fino al Zucko, quando il mare e basso resta grande parte al asciuto”. Melis R. et al. 44 Albani et al., 1991; Jorissen, 1988; Donnici & Serandrei Barbero, 2002) and the Late Quaternary of the Po Plain near Ravenna (Fiorini & Vaiani, 2001). Radiocarbon dates have been provided by the Poznan Rodiocarbon Laboratory, Foundation of the Adam Mickiwicz University (Poland). They were cali- brated using the CALIB 5.0 program (Stuiver et al., 2005). Ostracods were picked directly from sandy fraction and then identified (Plate II). The number of specimens Plate I - SEM photomicrographs of some foraminifer species representative of the studied sites (magnification: bar = 100 µm): 1 - Elphi- dium aculeatum; 2 - E. pulvereum, side view; 3 - E. complanatum, side view; 4 - E. crispum, side view; 5 - Rosalina bradyi, spiral side; 6 - R. floridana, spiral side; 7 - Helenina anderseni, spiral side; 8 - Nubecularia lucifuga, spiral side; 9 - Ammonia beccarii, spiral side; 10 - Discorbis aguayoi, umbilical side; 11 - D. aguayoi, spiral side; 12 - Adelosina carinato-striata, chamber view; 13 - Triloculina rotunda, chamber side; 14 - Siphonaperta agglutinans, side view; 15 - Quinqueloculina nodulosa, side view; 16 - Quinqueloculina parvula, side view. Sea level and paleoenvironment during Roman times inferred from coastal … 45 Plate II - SEM photomicrographs of some ostracod species representative of the studied sites (magnification: bar = 100 µm): 1 - Pontocy- there turbida, right valve; 2 - Xestoleberis communis, complete carapace in left lateral view; 3 - Aurila arborescens, right valve; 4 - Can- dona neglecta (juvenile specimen), left valve; 5 - Leptocythere lagunae, complete carapace in left lateral view; 6 - Neocytherideis fascia- ta, left valve; 7 - Hemicytherura videns (juvenile specimen), right valve; 8 - Schellencandona sp., complete carapace in left lateral view; 9 - Loxoconcha elliptica, complete carapace in left lateral view; 10 - L. stellifera, complete carapace in right lateral view. for each sample was reported in Tables 1 and 2; the presence of juveniles was recorded to distinguish au- tochthonous from allochthonous specimens. The data- base sources of modern and Quaternary ostracods in Mediterranean are provided by Bonaduce et al. (1975) and Breman (1975) for the northern Adriatic Sea, Mon- Melis R. et al. 46 tenegro et al. (1998) for Italian seas and Athersuch (1979) and Barbeito Gonzalez (1971) for Cyprus and Naxos Island, Greece. Other useful investigations in- clude the Nile delta margin core samples that provide information on pre-modern Quaternary ostracods (Sneh et al., 1986; Pugliese & Stanley, 1991) and on Quater- nary ostracods of Monastir, Tunisia (Wouters, 1973). Meisch (2000) has been used for fresh-water ostracods. The elevation of dated sea level markers (ar- chaeological remains and sedimentological samples) have been measured by GPS surveys. We estimated the elevations and ages of the archaeological bench- marks and evaluated their functional heights on the ba- sis of archaeological interpretations, following Lambeck et al. (2004b), Antonioli et al. (2007) and Auriemma & Solinas (2009) advices. Elevation errors are calculated from measurements, while the uncertainty in archaeo- logical dating is estimated from the architectural fea- tures of the structures and pottery sherds or ceramics found in the archaeological levels. Past sea levels are evaluated considering the ‘‘functional height’’ of archaeological structures. It is de- fined as the elevation of specific architectural parts of the structure with respect to the mean sea level at the time of their construction. It depends on the structure, on its use and on the local tide amplitudes. The func- tional height also defines the minimum elevation of the structure above mean sea level (Antonioli et al., 2007). Data have been compared with predicted sea level curve (Lambeck et al., 2011) to define the tectonic be- haviour of an area. When data are in agreement with the predicted sea level, tectonic stability is suggested. On the contrary, when the elevations of the markers are different from the predict- ed values, downlift or uplift is suggested. 4. RESULTS Archaeological and paleoenviron- mental data collected in correspondence of two archaeological excavations in Tri- este, the “Curia” site (Fig. 3A-C) and the “Cavazzeni” site (Fig. 4A-C), are hereinaf- ter described. 4.1. The “Curia” site The investigations concern the dis- covery of a luxurious 1st century AD sub- urban villa overlooking a coastal road. The excavation was carried out under the pavement of the villa. It has revealed a complex stratigraphy, which highlights an impressive arrangement of the shore with a NE-SW trending (USM438). The sea- ward side was made up of squared blocks which gradually diminish in size upward. Excavations indicate the presence of a quay constituted of a 2 m high sea wall (Fig. 3A), dated back using ceramics be- tween the 1st century BC and the 1st cen- tury AD. It is grounded at -0.3 m a.s.l. on the bedrock of the Roman Age shore plat- form (Tab. 3). At its base, a sandy beach (US698 - US699) occurs. It has been over- laid by sandy levels rich in shell fragments interbedded with plant debris elements. The discovery of abundant ceramic in the strati- graphic sequence permits to date this area at an age ranging between the end of the 1st century BC and the early 1st century AD. Later, archaeological structures were covered with filling materials (half of the 1st centu- ry AD). In this way, a new coastal road was built on the widened shore. In order to study the microfaunistic composition of this area, seven levels of the archaeological sequence have been selected, from the bottom to the top as fol- lows (Fig. 3A): US699: -0.18 m m.s.l., seaward tilted/sloping; US698: -0.15 m m.s.l., tilted/sloping, centimeters sandy level, located only at the base of the quay; US697T: -0.15 m m.s.l., tilted/sloping; blue-gray (alluvi- al?) clay with abundant rounded sandstone clasts; US696: -0.12 m m.s.l., strongly tilted - sloping, levels rich in vegetate materials interbedded with sandy lenses. Thickness of this unit increases toward the seaside; US695: -0.10 m m.s.l., sandy levels with centimeter thickness, interbedded with thin organic (vegetate) lenses; US692: +0.40 m m.s.l., plano-convex lens (max thick- ness 0.5 m) composed by rounded lithic fragments of sandstone. The following units, US691, 690 and 693 are con- sidered as anthropogenic backfilling. The foraminifers of this excavation consist of 24 species pertaining to 12 genera (Tab. 1). Among them, Fig. 3 - The archaeological site at Curia. A) Representative sketch of the site; B) and C) Views of the site. Sea level and paleoenvironment during Roman times inferred from coastal … 47 Ammonia beccarii is always present and dominant (fre- quency from 60.69, US697T to 85.71%, US682), mainly followed by Elphidium complanatum and E. crispum, which are absent in the level US692. Other species of Elphidium are present, such as E. aculeatum, E. jen- seni, E. macellum and E. pulvereum, without reaching Curia 699 698 697T 696 695 692 depth s.l.m. (m) - 0.18 - 0.15 - 0.15 - 0.12 - 0.10 + 0.40 foraminifers % % % % % % Adelosina candeiana (d'Orbigny) 0,6 Ammonia beccarii (Limneo) 71,4 70,6 60,7 62,9 61,9 85,7 Ammonia parkinsoniana (d'Orbigny) 1,7 1,7 1,8 Ammonia tepida (Cushman) 4,3 1,4 Aubignyna perlucida (Heron-Allen and Earland) 0,5 Buccella granulata (Di Napoli Alliata) 0,6 1,4 Buliminella elegantissima (d'Orbigny) 2,9 Elphidium aculeatum (d’Orbigny) 2,3 2,3 1,4 0,9 7,1 Elphidium complanatum (d’Orbigny) 5,7 9,0 12,1 4,3 19,7 Elphidium crispum (Linneo) 11,4 10,2 4,0 18,6 9,2 Elphidium cuvilleri Lévy Elphidium excavatum (Terquem) Elphidium incertum (Williamson) 0,6 Elphidium jenseni (Cushman) 1,7 1,2 1,4 7,1 Elphidium macellum (Fichtel & Moll) 1,7 5,2 5,7 1,4 Elphidium pulvereum Todd 5,7 0,6 4,0 0,5 Elphidium punctatum (Terquem) 0,6 0,9 Nonion pauciloculum Cushman 0,6 Polymorphina sp. 1,1 1,2 0,5 Polymorphina mystriformis Williamson 0,0 1,4 Quinqueloculina dimidiata Terquem 1,2 Quinqueloculina lata Terquem 0,6 Quinqueloculina seminulum (Linneo) 0,6 Sinuloculina cyclostoma 1,2 Siphonaperta aspera (d'Orbigny) 1,7 Triloculina marioni Schlumberger 2,9 0,6 n° of specimens 35 177 173 70 218 14 n° of species 6 11 19 8 12 3 ostracods n° n° n° n° n° n° Aurila arborescens (Brady) 1 Callistocythere sp. x Candona neglecta (Sars) x Candonidae x Leptocythere lagunae Hartmann 1 Loxoconcha stellifera G.W. Müller 2 Neocytherideis fasciata (Brady & Robertson) 1 Pontocythere turbida (G.W. Müller) 1 1x 1 1x Xestoleberis communis G.W. Müller 1 x Tab. 1 - Curia site: relative abundance of the foraminifera (above) as percentage of each species in respect to the total assem- blage; ostracods (below) as number of adult specimens and presence of juveniles is reported with the “x”. Melis R. et al. 48 high percentages. Ammonia tepida, well preserved, are occasionally present (levels US696 and 695), while Quinqueloculina spp. and others miliolids occurs only in the level 697T, where the highest richness of the assemblage is report- ed. The preservation of the test is generally poor, above all for A. bec- carii and E. crispum specimens. The ostracod fauna found in these samples consists of eight spe- cies pertaining to eight genera, which are listed in Table 1. Among them, Pontocythere turbida, Xestoleberis communis and Candona neglecta are the most common species, even if they occur with few specimens; other taxa such as Aurila arborescens, Le- ptocythere lagunae, Neocytherideis fasciata and Loxoconcha stellifera are occasionally present. Callistocythere sp. occur only as juveniles. On the whole, the species richness is very limited, up to four species in the level US695, whereas on the levels US696 and US692 the ostracods are absent. The ostracods species identified in this sequence are well-known in the modern Mediterranean as representa- tive of freshwater, brackish and ma- rine infralittoral settings; the occur- rence of X. communis indicates vege- tated bottoms. 4.2. The “Cavazzeni” site The archaeological sequence is dominated by an imposing wall struc- ture, USM4 (Structural stratigraphic unit, e.g. walls, etc.), carried out with a carefully structured double para- ment (and bag filling cement), which are recognized as part of the late an- cient city walls. Its foundational foot, slightly overhanging, which lies at an altitude of 0.0 m m.s.l. with respect to the current sea level, overlies a large terraced structure made of large blocks of sandstone. The latter was recognized as a part of the Roman harbour pier (USM77). Due to the small size of the excavation, it is im- possible to know the structural articu- lation of this coastal structures: only a small part of the side facing the sea was identified. It consists in minimum two steps about 0.5 m wide. The accurate analysis of the ar- chaeological material, allows to include the US76 in the first half of the 5th cen- tury AD. Archaeological data is con- firmed by radiocarbon dating on Bittium reticulatum shell (1550-1580 yrs BP, Tab. 4). Similarly, some amphorae fragments recovered in the US120 have been dated at an age ranging between the end of 4th and the begin- ning of the 5th century AD. The radiocarbon date of a B. reticulatum shell found inside the sediment, has pointed out an age of 3250 yrs BP (1250 yrs BC, Tab. 4). Cavazzeni US120 US76 (bottom) US76 (top) US74 depth s.l.m. (m) -0,35 -0,05 +0,25 +0.50 foraminifers % % % % Adelosina carinato-striata Wiesner 1,7 Adelosina sp. 0,5 Ammonia beccarii (Limneo) 0,5 9,1 54,5 Ammonia parkinsoniana (d'Orbigny) 0,6 0,5 9,1 Ammonia tepida (Cushman) 21,2 20,9 9,1 Aubignyna perlucida (Heron-Allen and Earland) 0,8 1,9 Buccella granulata (Di Napoli Alliata) 0,3 Cibicidella variabilis (d'Orbigny) 0,3 Cibicides lobatulus (Walker & Jacob) 0,8 Cibicides refulgens Monfort 0,5 Cornuspira involvens (Reuss) 1,1 Cribrononion lagunensis Albani & Serandrei Barbero 0,5 Discorbis aguayoi Bermudez 3,9 11,2 Elphidium aculeatum (d’Orbigny) 5,3 5,8 18,2 Elphidium complanatum (d’Orbigny) 3,9 5,8 Elphidium crispum (Linneo) 18,2 Elphidium excavatum (Terquem) 0,3 Elphidium jenseni (Cushman) 2,5 10,2 9,1 Elphidium macellum (Fichtel & Moll) 3,1 5,8 27,3 9,1 Elphidium pulvereum Todd 28,1 4,4 9,1 Elphidium punctatum (Terquem) 0,6 Haynesina germanica (Ehrenberg) 0,6 Helenina anderseni (Warren) 1,4 9,1 Lachlanella compressa (Wiesner) 0,6 Massilina secans (d’Orbigny) 0,5 Miliolinella subrotunda (Montagu) 1,1 1,9 Nonion depressulum (Walker & Jacob) 1,4 Nonion pauciloculum Cushman 1,7 Nubecularia lucifuga Defrance 2,2 1,0 Quinqueloculina bosciana d’Orbigny 0,3 0,5 Quinqueloculina lata Terquem 0,8 1,0 Quinqueloculina milletti (Wiesner) 0,6 Quinqueloculina nodulosa Wiesner 0,6 3,9 Quinqueloculina padana Perconig 0,5 Quinqueloculina parvula Schlumberger 3,1 Quinqueloculina seminulum (Linneo) 2,8 1,5 Quinqueloculina spp. 0,6 1,5 Quinqueloculina ungeriana d'Orbigny 9,1 Rosalina bradyi (Cushman) 0,6 0,5 Rosalina floridana (Cushman) 0,8 14,6 Rosalina vilardeboana d'Orbigny 1,7 Sigmoilina costata Schlumberger 0,6 Siphonaperta agglutinans (d'Orbigny) 0,3 Triloculina rotunda d'Orbigny 1,9 Trochammina inflata (Montagu) 4,2 2,4 9,1 n° of specimens 359 206 11 11 n° of species 36 26 8 5 ostracods n° n° n° n° Candona neglecta (Sars) x x Candonidae 2x x x Cytherois frequens G.W. Müller x Hemicytherura videns (G.W. Müller) 2 Heterocypris salinus (Brady) 1x Leptocythere lagunae Hartmann 1 Loxoconcha affinis (Brady) 2 Loxoconcha elliptica Brady x 3 1x Loxoconcha rhomboidea (Fischer) x 1 Loxoconcha sp. x x x Schellencandona sp. x 1x 3x x Paradoxostoma simile G.W. Müller 1 Xestoleberis communis G.W. Müller 2 Xestoleberis plana G.W. Müller x Tab. 2 - Cavazzeni site: relative abundance of the foraminifera (above) as percentage of each species in respect to the total assemblage; ostracods (below) as number of adult specimens and presence of juveniles is reported with the “x”. Sea level and paleoenvironment during Roman times inferred from coastal … 49 In order to study the microfaunistic composition of this paleoenvironments, four levels of the archaeological sequence have been selected, from the bottom to the top as follows (fig. 4A): US120: -0.35 m m.s.l.; US76 (bottom): -0.05 m m.s.l.; US76 (top): +0.25 m m.s.l.; US74: +0.50 m m.s.l. The sedimentary sequence at the “Cavazzeni” site is characterized by muddy sands rich in gravel. The lat- ter is more abundant toward the top of the excavation. Littoral gastropods are very abundant in the gravelly fraction, in particular well preserved specimens of Bit- tium reticulatum (Fig. 4B) and fragments of vegetation in the first three levels (US120, US76-bottom and US76- top); moreover they are enriched of carbonized wood fragments and archeological fragments toward the top (US74). The foraminifers found in this excavation ac- count for forty-four species comprised of twenty-three genera, listed in alphabetic order in Table 2; Ammo- nia, Elphidium and Quinqueloculina are the most fre- quent genera. The recovered taxa are well-known in the modern Mediterranean coastal areas, from brack- ish-water to infralittoral settings (see references re- ported in the Methods). From the bottom (older) to the top (younger) of the vertical section, the number of species strongly decreases from 36 (level US120) to 5 only (US74). In the first level (US120), Elphidium pulvereum and Ammonia tepida are the dominant species reaching the percentage of 28.13 and 21.17, respectively (Tab. 2). Other species, such as Milio- lidae, Discorbis aguayoi, E. aculeatum, E. complana- tum, E. jenseni, E. macellum and Trochammina in- flata are well represented, even if in low percentage. In the following level, US76 (bottom), where a slightly decreasing richness is reported (26 species), the presence of A. tepida is nearly constant, while an in- creasing percentage of D. aguayoi, E. jenseni and Rosalina floridana is evidenced. On the contrary, E. pulvereum strongly decreases at a rate consistent with the previous level. In the last two levels, toward the top of the excavation, the foraminiferal assem- blage is strongly reduced both in number of species and in number of tests (Tab. 2). Only few specimens of Ammonia beccarii, Elphidium crispum, E. macel- lum and Quinqueloculina ungeriana are reported. Moreover, these tests are often poorly preserved. It is noted that these samples contain reworked older planktonic foraminifers mixed with autochthonous forms; the reworked foraminifers mainly derive from the Eocene Flysch bedrock. The ostracod fauna found in these samples con- sists of fourteen species comprised of nine genera. These are listed in alphabetical order in the Table 2. Species of Candona, Schellencandona and Loxoconcha are the most frequent taxa, but usually represented by juveniles. In correspondence of the level US76 (bottom), the higher number of species of ostracods is defined by the occurrence of Loxoconcha spp., Xestoleberis spp., Heterocypris salinus and Leptocythere lagunae. On the top of the excavation (US74), scattered young speci- mens of Candona spp. occur. These species of ostra- cods, well-known in the modern Mediterranean, are typ- ically representative of freshwater, brackish, brackish- infralittoral and infralittoral conditions (see references reported in the Methods). A Site name B Sample C WGS84 coordinates D Elevation (m a.s.l.) E Laboratory Number F Age (14C uncal. BP) G Cal Age 1sigma (Years BP) Cavazzeni (US120) Bittium reticulatum 45.64861 13.7675 -0.10 Poz-15856 3250 ± 55 3074  87 Cavazzeni (US76 – bottom) Bittium reticulatum 45.64861 13.7675 -0.05 Poz-15854 2065 ± 30 1639  48 Cavazzeni (US76 – top) Bittium reticulatum 45.64861 13.7675 +0.30 Poz-15855 2020 ± 30 1576  47 Tab. 4 - Radiocarbon dating. A) site name and archaeological level; B) sample; C) WGS84 centesimal coordinates of the surveyed sites; D) elevation of the sample (m m.s.l.); E) laboratory number of the sample; F) uncalibrated age (years BP); G) calibrated age 1sigma (years BP). A Site name B Type of marker C WGS84 coordinates D Age (Years BP) E Corrected measured height (m a.s.l.) and reference F Functional height (m) G Palaeo-sea level (m m.s.l.) H Predicted height (Lambeck et al. 2011) (m m.s.l.) I Vertical tectonic rates (mm/yr) Curia Sea wall 45.64861 13.7675 200050 -0.30.2 This paper 0.3 -0.60.2 -0.46 -0.07 Tab. 3 - Dated sea level markers in Trieste. A) site name; B) type of sea level marker; C) WGS84 centesimal coordinates of the sur- veyed sites; D) estimated age of archaeological remains (years BP); E) corrected height of the archaeological marker and reference (if published data); F) functional height; G) paleo-sea level (measured + functional height); H) predicted sea level (from Lambeck et al., 2011); I) estimated vertical tectonic rate (mm/yr). Melis R. et al. 50 5. DISCUSSION Holocene paleoenvironments of coastal areas are closely related to sea level and its variations. In particular favorable conditions, as in urban environments, the ar- chaeological structures can preserve sedimentological markers which were deposited during their construction or during the employment of coastal artifacts. From a geomorphological point of view, all the coastal struc- tures found out in Trieste were roughly located at the Flysch cliff foot, which nowadays is completely covered by buildings of the 18th century. The present-day shore- line is, in fact, shifted offshore with respect to the Ro- man Age one (Fig. 1). Two coastal archaeological sites recently found out allowed to reconstruct the Roman Age sea level and its related environment. Moreover, the comparison of sur- veyed and published data (Ventura et al., 2008) concern- ing the site of Cavana provides the trait d’union to support our thesis concerning Roman Age sea level. Moreover, the comparison of their present elevations with predicted sea level curves (e.g. Lambeck et al., 2011) allowed to define the tectonic behaviour of the area. The detailed study of archaeological structures and the relative stratigraphic sequences found out at the studied sites highlighted the occurrence of marine de- posits at an altitude ranging from -0.35 to +0.50 m m.s.l. Since no other marine deposits at altitudes higher than present-day have been found along the whole Eastern Adriatic coasts, the studied sites are very significant. These marine fossils lay above mean sea level, but they are not directly related to past mean sea levels as they were probably deposited during a storm event or tsu- nami. Even if written historical sources of a tsunami in the Gulf of Trieste have never been found, marine shells dated in the archaeological level US76 - top suggest that they can be related to the 361 AD earthquake oc- curred in the Qvarner area (Croatia). A number of Au- thors (Pirazzoli, 1980; Benac et al., 2004, 2008), in fact, explained the submerged position of the notch along the Eastern Adriatic coast indicating the co-seismic move- ment related to this earthquake. Archaeological survey in Trieste highlights a com- plex Roman Age coastal architecture made up of sea walls, docks and piers connected by a coastal road and functional to a wide urban texture. The construction of the waterfront was probably the result of a wide project, gradually started since the 1st-2nd century AD (Maselli Scotti, 2008) and subsequently modified time after time up to the 5th century AD. The archaeological setting of the Curia site highlights that significant land reclama- tion have been carried out during Imperial Age too. From a geomorphological point of view, Roman Age coastal structures have been surveyed in correspond- ence of the cliff-platform junction. The natural morphol- ogy of the shoreline was probably still visible during Imperial Age, but it was subsequently modified by the following landfills. Fig. 4 - The archaeological site at Cavazzeni. A) Representative sketch of the site; B) Particular of the level US120 with abundant gas- tropods and C) View of the site. Sea level and paleoenvironment during Roman times inferred from coastal … 51 The composition of the foraminiferal assemblage of marine deposits at the base of the wall suggests a high energy shallow marine environment, as highlighted by the dominance of A. beccarii and E. crispum, whom specimens are both well and poorly preserved. The as- sociation with some epiphytic forms, such as E. aculea- tum and E. pulvereum, indicates some vegetation cover. The stratigraphical sequence seems to indicate the presence of a sandy bar (US699) which separates an inner environment (US696) and an outer one (US697). Only level US697T (-0.15 m.s.l.) is indicative of an open marine setting. Scattered occurrence of brackish taxa such as A. tepida, E. excavatum, N. pauciloculum sug- gests a slight influence of freshwater input. The ostra- cods, which are generally scarce or absent, confirm this paleoenvironmental interpretation. Afterward, the Imperial Age harbour system suf- fered a widespread crisis during the Late Roman Age (Ventura et al., 2008) so important as to remain out of the 5th century defensive system of the city. Later, ar- chaeological and micropaleontological data indicate the prograding of the coastline created through the accumu- lation of filling material (from US692 upward). Late Roman Age coastal structures which overlay an Imperial Age pier have been discovered at Cavazzeni (Fig. 4, Maselli Scotti, 2008; Degrassi et al., 2008). The pier could be simi- lar to fluvial dock structures found out at Alti- no (Venice, Italy, Tirelli, 2001), where the flu- vial port was terraced, as in Trieste, and cou- plet with wood poles, used for docking and protection of the dock itself (Tirelli, 2001). Even if the portuality and the harbour envi- ronment of Trieste was necessarily different, Roman Age oak poles have been found near the Cavazzeni site (Ventura, 1996). Regarding the Cavazzeni site, the mi- crofaunae composition of the levels US120 and US76 (bottom), which are located from –0.35 to –0.05 m m.s.l., represents a shal- low-marine infralittoral paleoenvironment, as testified by several species of miliolids and other marine hyaline taxa among the fora- minifers, and by species of Loxoconcha spp., Xestoleberis spp. and Hemicytherura videns among the ostracods. The occurrence of epiphytic species such as Elphidium spp., Rosalina spp. and Discorbis aguayoi, indicates the highly vegetate condi- tions of the bottom, whom remains are abundant in the studied sediments. In particular, D. aguayoi has been frequently found on Zoostera noltii leaves (Hohe- negger et al., 1989). This marine paleoenvironment is influenced by salinity variability, as indicated by the occurrence of A. tepida (> 20% of frequency), A. per- lucida, Haynesina spp. and T. inflata, which are spe- cies of brackish-water affinity characteristic of lagoon, estuarine, or river-mouth environments. The fresh wa- ter input is testified also by the presence of ostracods such as Candona spp., which is exclusive of lake set- tings. Probably in this shallow coastal environment, highly vegetated, fresh water may also accumulate from small streams or from human harbour activities. Considering the good preservation of the microfossils and the abundance of vegetation, it is possible to as- sume that it was a partially protected environment, maybe a small harbour. In fact, the high occurrence in all the studied levels, but one (US74), of B. reticula- tum, which is a marine infralittoral gastropod, could Fig. 5 - Representative sketch of the relations among the archaeological sites at Cavazzeni, Cavana and Curia. Fig. 6 - Predicted sea level curve (Lambeck et al., 2011) compared with the elevation of the sea level markers quoted in Table 3. Melis R. et al. 52 indicate a limited confinement of this area. The accu- mulation of these shells could be due to the backwash action. 17th century maps (Fig. 2) highlight the pres- ence of piers and breakwaters which created sheltered areas behind them along almost the waterfront. Dating of pottery sherds and ceramics found out at the stud- ied sites agree with the radiocarbon age on marine shells found out in the same deposits. In the upper part of the sequence (US76 - top and US74, from +0.25 to +0.50 m m.s.l.), very few foraminifers always badly preserved are recovered; they are represented by coastal marine taxa of high hydrodynamics such as A. beccarii, A. parkinsoniana and E. crispum, E. macel- lum, probably transported by violent storm episodes and accumulated in this confined basin or representing a non-protected coastline. Ostracods are very scarce and are represented only by juveniles of freshwater species. Archaeological materials indicate that the lev- el US74 probably represents a landfill. The archaeological setting of the two sites and the comparison with data collected at Cavana (Fig. 1, 5; Ventura et al., 2008; Degrassi et al., 2008) suggests the presence of marine deposits in all the studied sites. Thanks to the presence of coastal deposits and the joint analysis of both archaeological remains, mi- cropaleontological data and radiocarbon dating of ma- rine shells, sea level change in the study area was evaluated. Regarding the Curia site, even if the ar- chaeological structure is poor of information, the pre- sence of a beach deposit located at the base of the coastal wall reduces the errors related to the Roman Age sea level height. In particular, we compared the archaeological structure to current retaining sea walls scattered along the shoreline Northward from Trieste. Their base is located averagely 0.3 m above mean sea level. According to the hypothetical similarity between present-day and ancient sea walls, we suggest that Roman Age functionality of the studied sea wall was about 0.3 m (Tab. 3). Considering an elevation uncer- tainty of +0.2 m, Roman sea level was therefore at about -0.6±0.2 m m.s.l. Afterwards, these structures and the related coastal deposits were covered by filling materials, in order to create a new waterfront, moved off-shore (Fig. 2). On the contrary, due to the small size of the excavation, it is more difficult to evaluate the role and consequently the functionality of Imperial Age structures at Cavazzeni. Therefore it is impossible to evaluate the sea level change which occurred since the time of their construction. Degrassi et al. (2008) suggested two hypothesis concerning sea level change in the area. The first hy- pothesis assumes the tectonic stability, while the latter assumes the vertical downdrop, in agreement with the whole Eastern Adriatic coast. Thank to the availability of new archaeological and micropaleontological data at Curia site, we support the first hypothesis. In fact, the comparison of surveyed data and predicted curves (An- tonioli et al. 2007; Lambeck et al., 2011) suggests that limited relative sea level variations occurred since Ro- man Age (Fig. 6), despite the significant tectonic sub- sidence of the Eastern and Northern Adriatic coast (An- tonioli et al., 2007; Faivre et al., 2011). Data here dis- cussed confirm the tectonic peculiarity of the Trieste ar- ea suggested by Furlani et al. (2011) with respect to the surrounding area. 6. CONCLUSIONS A detailed analysis of published and new data on archaeological remains and sedimentological deposits at two archaeological sites in Trieste allowed to recon- struct the paleoenvironment and the sea level during Roman Age. At that time, the shoreline was already strongly affected by human activities, as testified by the presence of well-developed coastal structures. After- wards, these structures were covered by 17th century reclamation works. Archaeological and micropaleontolo- gical data indicate that Roman Age sea level was - 0.6±0.2 m lower than nowadays. Therefore the compar- ison between past sea level and the predicted sea level curve (Lambeck et al., 2011) suggests that this sector of the Gulf of Trieste has been affected by a vertical tec- tonic downlift of about -0.2 mm/yr since Roman Age. These data disagree with the higher tectonic subsidence observed along the remaining part of the Northern Adri- atic Sea (Antonioli et al., 2007). The presence of marine deposits with bad- preserved microfossils at elevations higher than current mean sea level suggests the possible occurrence of a violent storm or a tsunami event. Radiocarbon dating suggests a correlation with the 361 AD earthquake oc- curred along the Eastern Adriatic coasts. This earth- quake was considered as the driving factor in the origin of the submerged notch in the same area by Pirazzoli (1980) and Benac et al. (2004, 2008). 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Ms. received: January 23, 2012 Final text received: March 8, 2012