Geoarchaeology of the ancient and medieval Danube Delta: Modeling environmental and historical changes. A review

Abstract

The study presents a brief review of the main evolutionary stages of the Danube deltaic area, according to the most recent discoveries in the field, as well as an emphasis on the new delimitating criteria for the hinterland in the ancient (7th century B.C.–5th century A.D.) and medieval times (14th–18th centuries A.D.) A cartographic delimitation model for the studied settlements' hinterlands was created. The Danube Delta is a dynamic interface between the geological history, the deltaic morphogenesis and the human occupation. The Danube Delta complex is one of the most important geo-political and cultural entities which can be described as a compound geographical unit that provides an exceptional biodiversity. Although this area has been intensely inhabited during the previous historical periods, underlined in the case of several ancient and medieval sources, only limited archaeological sites have been identified up to the present, and they are affected by the permanent extension and mobility of the Danube Delta. The Greek cities of Istros/Histria and Orgame/Argamum, colonies established by Miletus, which later continued their development as Roman cities, were located in the lagoonal region on the coast. The Roman fortification of Halmyris was situated on the Danube Delta's southern branch and the small bastion was located on the island called “Bisericuta”. Two other medieval fortresses were identified; Heraclea, probably a Genovese fortress (present-day Enisala), and the Ottoman fortification of Vadu, situated respectively at the western and southern limits of the Razim–Sinoie lagoon. There are still numerous scientific debates on the origin and evolution of the Danube Delta and the Black Sea. The specific studies on the recent evolution of the Danube's mouths (Antiquity and the Middle Ages) can provide essential and significant contributions to the habitat's dynamics in relation to the deltaic geomorphology. The rapid changes in the shoreline caused a massive exodus of the populations from the areas covered by water. The Milesian colonies of Histria and Argamum disappeared because of the rising sea level and because a barrier spit was built in front of the Halmyris Gulf, which caused the formation of the Razim–Sinoie lagoon.