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Archaeological evidence for tectonic activity in the region of the Haifa-Qishon Graben, Israel
Tectonophysics, 52 (1979) 177-178 0 Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company,
177
Amsterdam
- Printed in The Netherlands
ARCHAEOLOGIC.AL EVIDENCE FOR TECTONIC ACTIVITY REGION OF THE HAIFA-QISHON GRABEN, ISRAEL
IN THE
N.C. FLEMMING Institute of Oceanographic Sciences,
(Accepted for publication
Wormley, Godalming, Surrey (Great Britain)
April 4, 1978)
ABSTRACT Thirty-five archaeological sites between Lebanon and Gaza on the Mediterranean shore of Israel were surveyed for evidence of relative changes of sea level; and published and unpublished data were compiled on a further 23 sites. Remains of occupation levels were classified into 13 archaeological periods from Neolithic to Crusader, giving a good dating scale over the last 9000 years. The Bronze Age shoreline (4000 years B.P.) is shown to be very close to the present shore along most of the coast, with vertical changes of less than 1.0 m at most sites. For later periods the accuracy of measurement of relative changes of level was improved to a root sum square error of 28 cm. The mean and modal sea levels derived from all sites of the same archaeological period were plotted against time to indicate the most probable “eustatic” sea-level curve, though it is accepted that hydro-isostatic adjustment and broad-scale slow earth movements cannot be separated statistic~ly from eustatic changes on a 200-km stretch of coast. The relative sea level is shown to have been between -70 cm and present sea level for the last 4000 years, with no evidence for oscillations of amplitude more than -~30 cm at periodicities longer than 400 years, and no high sea level still stands. Relative vertical displacement between sites of the same archaeological age is attributed to tectonism. The sites on the ~luvium of the H~fa~ishon graben show no signs of vertical displacement, but there is maximum activity to north and south. Acco, on the north margin, shows submergence of nearly 2.0 m since A.D. 1300, with probable uplift preceding that date. Mount Carmel, south of the graben, shows signs of only very slight relative change, possibly attributable to eustatic change, in the immediate vicinity of the graben. But the southern flank of the mountain, 20-80 km south of the southern fault of the Graben, shows active vertical movements on the whole coast. Dor and Caesarea indicate multiple vertical movements ranging from 1.0 to 5.0 m in the last 2000 years, and a slump or fault has intersected the harbour area of Caesarea about 150 m offshore.
178
These observations are related briefly to recent geodetic levelling of the coast and graben area; observations on the Dead Sea Rift; and hypotheses of fault control of the linearity of the Israel Mediterranean coastline. REFERENCE Flemming, N.C., Raban, A. and Goetschel, C., 1978. Tectonic and eustatic changes on the Mediterranean coast of Israel in the last 9000 years. In: Progress in Underwater Science. Pentech Press, London, 3: 33-93.
177
Amsterdam
- Printed in The Netherlands
ARCHAEOLOGIC.AL EVIDENCE FOR TECTONIC ACTIVITY REGION OF THE HAIFA-QISHON GRABEN, ISRAEL
IN THE
N.C. FLEMMING Institute of Oceanographic Sciences,
(Accepted for publication
Wormley, Godalming, Surrey (Great Britain)
April 4, 1978)
ABSTRACT Thirty-five archaeological sites between Lebanon and Gaza on the Mediterranean shore of Israel were surveyed for evidence of relative changes of sea level; and published and unpublished data were compiled on a further 23 sites. Remains of occupation levels were classified into 13 archaeological periods from Neolithic to Crusader, giving a good dating scale over the last 9000 years. The Bronze Age shoreline (4000 years B.P.) is shown to be very close to the present shore along most of the coast, with vertical changes of less than 1.0 m at most sites. For later periods the accuracy of measurement of relative changes of level was improved to a root sum square error of 28 cm. The mean and modal sea levels derived from all sites of the same archaeological period were plotted against time to indicate the most probable “eustatic” sea-level curve, though it is accepted that hydro-isostatic adjustment and broad-scale slow earth movements cannot be separated statistic~ly from eustatic changes on a 200-km stretch of coast. The relative sea level is shown to have been between -70 cm and present sea level for the last 4000 years, with no evidence for oscillations of amplitude more than -~30 cm at periodicities longer than 400 years, and no high sea level still stands. Relative vertical displacement between sites of the same archaeological age is attributed to tectonism. The sites on the ~luvium of the H~fa~ishon graben show no signs of vertical displacement, but there is maximum activity to north and south. Acco, on the north margin, shows submergence of nearly 2.0 m since A.D. 1300, with probable uplift preceding that date. Mount Carmel, south of the graben, shows signs of only very slight relative change, possibly attributable to eustatic change, in the immediate vicinity of the graben. But the southern flank of the mountain, 20-80 km south of the southern fault of the Graben, shows active vertical movements on the whole coast. Dor and Caesarea indicate multiple vertical movements ranging from 1.0 to 5.0 m in the last 2000 years, and a slump or fault has intersected the harbour area of Caesarea about 150 m offshore.
178
These observations are related briefly to recent geodetic levelling of the coast and graben area; observations on the Dead Sea Rift; and hypotheses of fault control of the linearity of the Israel Mediterranean coastline. REFERENCE Flemming, N.C., Raban, A. and Goetschel, C., 1978. Tectonic and eustatic changes on the Mediterranean coast of Israel in the last 9000 years. In: Progress in Underwater Science. Pentech Press, London, 3: 33-93.