Sea‐Level Surges in the Northern Adriatic and Their Impact on the “Functional Height” Estimation of Archaeological Markers

Abstract

Sea‐level surges caused by sirocco wind are frequent in the northern Adriatic. Added to the local spring‐tide amplitude of about 40 cm, they should not be disregarded when estimating the elevation of maritime archaeological structures in relation to their function at the time of their construction. Based on the statistical analysis of the frequency and distribution of hourly sea‐level surges at Trieste, Rovinj, and Venice, realistic estimates of functional heights for sea‐level reconstructions to be applied to archaeological remains of coastal structures, e.g., fish tanks, appear to be approximately 120–130 cm near Trieste and around 95–105 cm in the Rovinj area. These exceed the value of 60 cm recently proposed by a group of archaeologists. Such underestimation tends to lower by about half a meter (in relation to certain previous estimates) sea‐level position in Roman times along the coast of Istria. The sea level during this period should be derived from more accurate sea‐level indicators such as marine biological remains preserved on archaeological structures.