Research results from the Archaeomedes project
The final volume in a series on the research results of the Archaeomedes project, funded under the EU's Environment and Climate research programme and coordinated by the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, has recently been published. The project which began in July 1992 and ended in October 1994 investigated the natural and anthropogenic causes of land degradation and desertification in the Mediterranean region. This report introduces and summarises the project, whilst the other five volumes are each devoted to one particular area and period, discussing the phenomenon of land degradation from different perspectives. The publication is divided into eleven chapters which deal with the following: - Introduction, providing an overview of the aims and objectives of the project; - Multi-disciplinarity, policy relevant research and the non-linear paradigm; - Methodology and the main building blocks of the approach; - Research in north-western Epirus in the Palaoelithic; - Studying the environmental dynamics in the Vera basin; - Urban and rural settlement patterns and degradation in the ancient Rhône valley; - Urban and rural settlement in the middle and lower Rhône valley in modern times; - Agricultural production and water quality in the Argolid valley, Greece; - Landscape perception in Epirus in the late 20th century; - Conclusions, covering methodology and theory, and substantive aspects and recommendations.