Relative sea level changes by using archaeological markers The interreg italiaslovenia project alto adriatico

Six submerged archaeological sites located along the NE Adriatic coast (Italy, Slovenia and Croatia) and dated ~2.0 ka BP were studied. In particular, we provide new precise measures measured with respect to the present sea level of submerged archaeological and geomorphological markers (notches), that are considered good sea level indicators. The interpretation of their functional heights, related with sea level at the time of their construction, allows to obtain data on the relative changes between land and sea. These data have been compared with the predicted sea level rise curves, using new mathematical models for the glacio-hydro-isostatic contributions associated with the last deglaciation. The northeast Adriatic (Italy, Slovenia and Croatia) is an area of subsidence and we use the calibrated model results to isolate the isostatic from the tectonic contributions. This indicates that the Adriatic coast, from the Gulf of Trieste to the southern Istria, has been tectonically downlifted by no less then ~ 1.5 m since Roman times. © 2010 by The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics.