6533b833fe1ef96bd129cad5

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Geoarchaeological study of the Phoenician cemetery of Tyre-Al Bass (Lebanon) and geomorphological evolution of a tombolo

José Miguel RuizPilar Carmona

subject

ArcheologyTomboloSediment trap (geology)Cuspate forelandSiltArchaeologylanguage.human_languageSand dune stabilizationEarth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)languageLittoral zonePhoenicianGeologyHolocene

description

The geoarchaeological record of the Phoenician necropolis of Al Bass (Lebanon) provides information concerning the geomorphological evolution of a late Holocene tombolo. Physical and chemical analysis of sediments indicates that the cemetery (9th century B.C.) was located near a littoral lagoon, between the dunes of a cuspate spit pointing toward the island of Tyre. From the sea apex of this spit, the moles mentioned in historical chronicles were constructed. Once mainland and island were connected, at the northern coast (where the port of Sidon was located), a sediment trap was formed, which quickly filled with silt. Afterwards, an extensive field of sand dunes buried all the archaeological remains from Phoenician to Roman times. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.20202