Ce gros volume, dont la qualite d’edition est a souligner, regroupe les articles issus d’une grande partie des communications et des posters presentes au colloque « Fleuve et marais, une histoire au croisement de la nature et de la culture. Societes preindustrielles et milieux fluviaux lacustres et palustres : pratiques sociales et hydrosystemes », organise par J. Burnouf et Ph. Leveau, qui s’est tenu a La Baume-les-Aix les 8, 9 et 10 avril 2002. Ce colloque est directement issu des projets s...
The first cities emerged in the Middle East at the end of the 4th millennium BC. Studies in the field of archaeology, geomorphology, geoscience and history allow us to understand which types of hazards were affecting the cities, and how they had an impact on landscapes in the past, in the Middle East, but also in other parts of the world. There is much to be gained: these studies are fundamental to a better understanding of present-day hazards, to urban development, but also to remembering our heritage. Cities have always been susceptible to nature’s risks and natural disasters but have also – through urban development and through the proximity of great numbers of human beings –, generated their own specific hazards.
Abstract : The Jiroft area, located in a semi-arid zone along the Halil Rud in southeastern Iran, seems to have been an important cultural center during the 3rd millennium ВС. This paper presents the preliminary results of the first two years (2004 and 2005) of a geoarchae- ological program carried out at the invitation of Prof. Madjidzadeh. The Quaternary geomorphological dynamics in the valley are studied, and we present the preliminary results of a geophysical prospection (electro-magnetism, seismic refraction, radar) carried out in January 2005. Climatic aridity, seismicity and large, sudden floods are the most important risks for human societies in the Jiroft basin. Artesian wells and abundant phreatic water are of primary importance for human settlements even though the water is salty. The reconstruction ofpaleoalluvialfans and fossil riverbeds under several meters ofHolocene deposits, should come first in our attempt to understand the paleogeography of the valley.
During the Holocene, the western part of the present-day Thessaloniki coastal plain (north-central Greece) was flooded by the rising sea level and formed a bay as a consequence of the last postglacial transgression. The rate of the sealevel rise subsequently decelerated, and this bay began to fill with sediments delivered by the Aliakmon and Axios, as well as by other smaller rivers. The palaeogeographic and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the Thessaloniki Plain was the focus of several studies published during the past century. Most of these studies are based on the interpretation of historical sources and support the assumption of a fast filling of the bay between the fifth century BC and the fifth century AD. In this work, we first present the results of the analysis of data collected from six boreholes recently drilled in the western part of the plain, up to the western bank of the Axios River. Our study was mainly based on sedimentological and palaeontological analyses and accelerator mass spectrometry and conventional radiocarbon dating of shells and peat. Second, we evaluate the results of this study, as well as of other geological studies, which permit the description of the large-scale stratigraphic pattern of the plain. Data were evaluated on the basis of a geographic information system, used for the first time in such type of work, and were supplemented and assessed with analysis of Landsat imagery. Based on this evidence, we propose a new, detailed palaeogeographic reconstruction for the evolution of the Thessaloniki Plain during the Late Holocene. This plain corresponded to a wide marine bay during the Neolithic times (6000 BP), and later it was characterised by a fast displacement of the shoreline, mainly during Late Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Classical–Archaic periods (2650–2300 BP). A slowing down of the progradation of the alluvial plain occurred during Roman times (2100–1600 BP), and the plain obtained its present-day topography during the second part of the 20th century.
In Oman, quaternary climatic fluctuations alternated between humid and arid periods. Humid periods are a key component in landscape evolution and the history of early human-environment interactions, as they allowed for less-restrictive arid conditions by triggering increasing rainfall and fluvio-lacustrine activity. Fluvial archives are of great interest for understanding hydrosystems' local responses to quaternary regional climatic fluctuations. For the end of the Pleistocene and the Holocene, little data are available in Northern Oman to examine this topic and to compare it with archaeological site distribution and subsistence strategies, in particular with regard to water resources. Here, we will present fluvial records from a small wadi called Wadi Dishshah, located in the southern part of the Hajar Mountains' piedmont, near the Salakh Arch area. The study of the Wadi Dishshah relies on topographic surveys (aerial survey with drone), geomorphological mapping, morphostratigraphic analyses of natural and excavated sections, malacological analyses and age-dating using OSL and radiocarbon methods. Three phases of aggradation have been identified: the first one between 26,500 cal. BP and 11,300 cal. BP, a second between 6,200 cal. BP and 5,500 cal. BP and a late one around 2,800 cal. BP. The fluvial records from the Wadi Dishshah and its hydro-climatic significance are compared to the distribution of archaeological sites from the Salakh Arch area to discuss the relations between settlement strategies and surface flows. This work is the first case study of late Pleistocene – Holocene alluvial formations in this region of Oman.
