Late Holocene Tectonic Uplift and the Silting Up of Lechaion, the Western Harbor of Ancient Corinth, Greece

Abstract

Lechaion's ancient harbor is now a coastal swamp filled with sediments. Two natural factors explain the harbor's abandonment: (1) tectonic uplift during historical times and (2) the location of the harbor basin in a serpentine depression protected from the sea. Although it undoubtedly functioned as a very efficient sediment trap, only modest sedimentation rates (<1 mm/yr) have been measured in the basin. This paradox suggests that the basin was dredged and that the extracted sediments were dumped, forming a number of mounds around the harbor edges. The transition from marine organics to silt is dated to 750–400 cal. B.C. and precedes the 1.2 m uplift of the harbor at around 340 B.C., which underscores the minimal impact of tectonic forcing factors. The presence of fine‐grained sediments is consistent with an increasingly protected environment. The macrofauna indicate a low‐energy environment enriched with organic matter and brackish conditions. All data suggest that this environment became isolated from the sea. Although a seismic uplift around 340 B.C. played a partial role in the evolution of the harbor, it is not the sole natural forcing agent involved in the silting up of the basin. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.