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Maritime and Coastal Archaeology
Research Guide
What is Maritime and Coastal Archaeology?
Maritime and Coastal Archaeology is the study of human interactions with coastal and marine environments through the investigation of submerged landscapes, ancient harbors, shipwrecks, underwater cultural heritage, and geoarchaeological evidence of sea-level changes during the Holocene, with a primary focus on the Mediterranean region.
The field encompasses 207,683 works centered on Mediterranean maritime archaeology, including sea-level changes, ancient harbors, underwater cultural heritage, shipwrecks, coastal evolution, tidal notches, and Holocene geoarchaeology. Research examines submerged landscapes and historical maritime activities in the Mediterranean. Growth rate over the past 5 years is not available.
Topic Hierarchy
Research Sub-Topics
Mediterranean Sea-Level Changes and Submerged Landscapes
This sub-topic reconstructs Holocene sea-level curves using coastal markers and models submerged paleo-shorelines to locate prehistoric sites.
Ancient Harbours and Ports in the Mediterranean
Researchers investigate submerged harbour structures, sedimentation processes, and bathymetric changes at sites like Caesarea and Alexandria.
Shipwrecks and Mediterranean Underwater Cultural Heritage
This field documents ancient shipwrecks, cargo analysis, and conservation techniques for Mediterranean underwater sites from Bronze Age to medieval periods.
Geoarchaeology of Mediterranean Coastal Evolution
Studies integrate sedimentology, tectonics, and dating to reconstruct coastal dynamics and their impact on archaeological site preservation.
Tidal Notches and Morphometric Indicators in Mediterranean Archaeology
This sub-topic analyzes tidal notches, shore platforms, and bioerosion markers as precise indicators of relative sea-level changes at archaeological sites.
Why It Matters
Maritime and Coastal Archaeology supports the documentation and preservation of underwater cultural heritage for sustainable maritime development and coastal zone management, as demonstrated in the multidisciplinary mapping of the Ancient Aegina Harbour Complex. It reveals historical maritime power structures, such as monumental boathouses tracing the rise and fall of the Bjarkøy Clan in Northern Norway during the Viking Age and Medieval Period. The Gråharuna shipwreck analysis highlights sixteenth-century Baltic Sea trade networks using photogrammetry for high-resolution models. Projects like BCThubs, with a €4,997,562.50 EU contribution coordinated by the Regional Development Fund of Thessaly and University of Thessaly, empower underwater cultural heritage management across partners in Greece.
Reading Guide
Where to Start
'Sea level and global ice volumes from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Holocene' by Lambeck et al. (2014), as it provides foundational reconstructions of sea-level changes essential for understanding submerged coastal archaeology (2523 citations).
Key Papers Explained
Lambeck et al. (2014) in 'Sea level and global ice volumes from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Holocene' establishes baseline sea-level data from glacial cycles, which Siddall et al. (2003) in 'Sea-level fluctuations during the last glacial cycle' refines with millennial-scale coral reef evidence. Chronological tools advance with Bronk Ramsey and Lee (2013) in 'Recent and Planned Developments of the Program OxCal' for radiocarbon calibration and Appleby (2005) in 'Chronostratigraphic Techniques in Recent Sediments' for sediment dating. Feathers (2000) in 'An introduction to optical dating' complements these for geoarchaeological site chronologies.
Paper Timeline
Most-cited paper highlighted in red. Papers ordered chronologically.
Advanced Directions
Preprints emphasize multidisciplinary mapping of submerged installations like the Ancient Aegina Harbour Complex and Viking Age boathouses in Northern Norway. Gråharuna shipwreck studies apply photogrammetry to Baltic trade networks. Initiatives like MarEA Project and BCThubs (€4,997,562.50 EU-funded) target Middle East/North Africa heritage preservation, with tools like shoredate R package advancing shoreline dating.
Papers at a Glance
| # | Paper | Year | Venue | Citations | Open Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Argonauts of the Western Pacific. | 1923 | The Economic Journal | 2.7K | ✕ |
| 2 | Sea level and global ice volumes from the Last Glacial Maximum... | 2014 | Proceedings of the Nat... | 2.5K | ✓ |
| 3 | Tracers in the Sea | 1982 | Medical Entomology and... | 2.1K | ✕ |
| 4 | Millennial- and orbital-scale changes in the East Asian monsoo... | 2008 | Nature | 1.9K | ✓ |
| 5 | Sea-level fluctuations during the last glacial cycle | 2003 | Nature | 1.6K | ✓ |
| 6 | The Asian monsoon over the past 640,000 years and ice age term... | 2016 | Nature | 1.6K | ✕ |
| 7 | Chronostratigraphic Techniques in Recent Sediments | 2005 | Kluwer Academic Publis... | 1.4K | ✕ |
| 8 | Recent and Planned Developments of the Program OxCal | 2013 | Radiocarbon | 1.4K | ✕ |
| 9 | An introduction to optical dating | 2000 | Geoarchaeology | 1.2K | ✕ |
| 10 | Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory | 1986 | Elsevier eBooks | 1.2K | ✕ |
In the News
Kathleen and David Boochever Endowment for Fieldwork ...
new ways. The fund will support research activities such as regional or site survey, geophysical prospection, remote sensing, exploratory excavations in both terrestrial and maritime contexts, or i...
Bet2U Reports Breakthrough in Maritime Archaeology with ...
* Meet The Team * Contact Us * Weather Lab Experience * Contests * TV Schedule * Signal Rescan * Positive News Breaking News
Success Story. BCThubs: Empowering Underwater Cultural ...
Budget|Total: €4,997,562,50 EU Contribution: €4,997,562.50| Partners/ Countries|**Coordinator/ lead: Regional Development Fund of Thessaly****(Greece)** University of Thessaly **(Greece)**
Tag: underwater archaeology
The MarEA Project (Maritime Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa) is a collaborative initiative led by the University of Southampton and Ulster University, in partnership with...
Gateway to Research (GtR) - Explore publicly funded research
- Policy Influence - Further Funding - Research Databases and Models - Collaboration - Engagement Activities
Code & Tools
The package _shoredate_ offers methods to shoreline date coastal Stone Age sites based on their present-day elevation and the trajectory of past re...
COAsT is Diagnostic and Assessment toolbox for kilometric scale regional models.
MarineTools is a framework that integrates software that can be used in the search for solutions to real engineering and marine problems. Developed...
CoastalME (Coastal Modelling Environment) is a Free and Open Source software for geospatial modelling to simulate decadal and longer coastal morpho...
This gitrepo contains the files that construct the documentation describing how IT suppliers can help the Dutch cultural heritage institutions to b...
Recent Preprints
A Multidisciplinary Approach for the Mapping, Automatic Detection and Morphometric Analysis of Ancient Submerged Coastal Installations: The Case Study of the Ancient Aegina Harbour Complex
Abstract: The documentation of underwater cultural heritage (UCH) is the basis for sustainable maritime development including its protection, preservation, and incorporation in coastal zone managem...
Maritime Power in Northern Norway during the Viking Age and Medieval Period: Evidence from Monumental Boathouses Tracing the Rise and fall of the Bjarkøy Clan
The research group Arctic Archaeology (ArcArc) at the Arctic University Museum of Norway (henceforth UM) initiated a research project in 2019 called Points of Passage: Articulations of Dynamic Nort...
The Gråharuna Shipwreck: A Window into Early Modern Seaborne Trade in the Baltic Sea
This paper investigates the _Gråharuna_ shipwreck, situated in the Finnish outer archipelago, to illustrate its significance within the maritime trade networks of the sixteenth century Baltic Sea. ...
Navigating the Narrative: Integrating Traditional Knowledge and Embodied Practice within Computational Models of Ancient Seafaring
methods that we as researchers employ to capture, recreate, or understand seafaring in the past. These include the study of direct archaeological evidence, oral traditions and written records, expe...
Archaeology Research Papers
The largest Kuiseb River floods initiate at the basin's semi-arid headwater. Downstream, along the hyperarid Namib Desert, these floodwaters are feeding shallow alluvial aquifers, the only availabl...
Latest Developments
Recent developments in maritime and coastal archaeology research include upcoming international conferences such as the 2026 Travellers of the Sea conference, which will focus on maritime history, marine archaeology, and ethnology (meremuuseum.ee), as well as the 2025 UK Maritime Heritage Forum (nms.ac.uk). Additionally, the field is advancing through projects like the EU-funded CHERISH toolkit for investigating heritage and climate change impacts on coastal sites (cambridge.org), and efforts to document threats to maritime heritage in regions like the Middle East and North Africa through the Maritime Endangered Archaeology project (marea.soton.ac.uk). Notably, recent research also includes discoveries such as the 5600-year-old submerged bridge in Mallorca indicating early human presence (nature.com), and a study extending hunter-gatherer sea voyages to the remotest Mediterranean islands (nature.com), both published in 2024 and 2025 respectively.
Sources
Frequently Asked Questions
What methods are used in Maritime and Coastal Archaeology?
Researchers apply multidisciplinary non-intrusive approaches, including mapping, automatic detection, and morphometric analysis of submerged coastal installations, as in the Ancient Aegina Harbour Complex. Photogrammetry and advanced diving techniques document shipwrecks like Gråharuna for high-resolution models. Tools such as the shoredate R package enable shoreline dating of coastal Stone Age sites based on elevation and relative sea-level trajectories.
How do sea-level changes relate to this field?
Sea-level fluctuations from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Holocene are reconstructed using data on global ice volumes, as shown by Lambeck et al. (2014) in 'Sea level and global ice volumes from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Holocene' (2523 citations). Siddall et al. (2003) detailed millennial-scale changes during the last glacial cycle from fossil coral reef terraces in 'Sea-level fluctuations during the last glacial cycle' (1625 citations). These reconstructions provide context for submerged landscapes and coastal evolution.
What is the role of chronological techniques?
OxCal software calibrates radiocarbon dates and analyzes chronological data, with developments outlined by Bronk Ramsey and Lee (2013) in 'Recent and Planned Developments of the Program OxCal' (1418 citations). Appleby (2005) covers chronostratigraphic techniques in recent sediments in 'Chronostratigraphic Techniques in Recent Sediments' (1420 citations). Feathers (2000) introduces optical dating methods in 'An introduction to optical dating' (1216 citations).
What recent applications exist for underwater cultural heritage?
The MarEA Project, led by the University of Southampton and Ulster University with Oxford University, focuses on maritime endangered archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa. BCThubs project supports underwater cultural heritage with €4,997,562.50 EU funding involving the University of Thessaly in Greece. Kathleen and David Boochever Endowment funds fieldwork like geophysical prospection and remote sensing in maritime contexts.
How is ancient seafaring studied?
Studies integrate traditional knowledge, embodied practice, and computational models of ancient seafaring, combining archaeological evidence, oral traditions, and experimental archaeology. Monumental boathouses in Northern Norway evidence Viking Age maritime power of the Bjarkøy Clan. Shipwreck sites like Gråharuna illustrate early modern Baltic trade networks.
Open Research Questions
- ? How can relative sea-level trajectories be precisely modeled to date submerged coastal sites in the Mediterranean Holocene?
- ? What drives millennial-scale sea-level fluctuations and their impacts on ancient harbors during glacial cycles?
- ? How do integrations of traditional knowledge and computational models improve reconstructions of ancient Mediterranean seafaring routes?
- ? What preservation strategies best protect endangered underwater cultural heritage amid modern coastal development?
- ? How do tidal notches and coastal evolution markers correlate with human maritime activities in the Mediterranean?
Recent Trends
Preprints from the last six months highlight multidisciplinary non-intrusive methods for submerged sites, such as automatic detection in the Ancient Aegina Harbour Complex and photogrammetry on the Gråharuna shipwreck (2025).
2026Viking Age boathouses evidence maritime power shifts in Northern Norway , while computational seafaring models integrate traditional knowledge (2025).
2025News covers BCThubs EU project (€4,997,562.50 total budget, Greece-coordinated) and MarEA for endangered archaeology, with endowments funding maritime prospection.
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