The first step of the project consisted in the collection of a long sedimentary core in the Hula valley to reconstruct the environmental changes using a multidisciplinary approach combining organic (molecular biomarkers and their isotopes) and inorganic (X-ray Fluorescence) geochemical markers in combination with radiocarbon dating of cores. Results indicate a dichotomy between the mid-Holocene (7000-4000 cal. years BP) and the late-Holocene (last 4000 years). The mid-Holocene is characterized by important fluctuations of the erosion dynamics in the watershed, whereas the last 4000 years are characterized by less intense episodes of erosion (Figure 1). On the contrary, analysis of markers of human activity seems to highlight a more intense human presence between 4000 and 500 cal years BP. The maximum concentration of faecal biomarkers been recorded during the Roman period.
In parallel, investigations have been undertaken at the site of Kursi along the shore of the Sea of Galilee in order to reconstruct changes in the level of the lake through time and question their link with regional changes in spatial and temporal variations of precipitations (Figure 2).
Our work demonstrate that water level was around -212 to -210 m mean sea level (msl) for the Iron Age II period (9th-10th centuries BCE). Lake level rose to -208/-209 m msl during the Late Hellenistic/Early Roman period. Water level remained low (<-213/-214 m msl) from the Byzantine to the Crusader period (from 5th to 12th centuries CE). The results have been published in an outstanding journal (Giaime and Artzy, 2022 – Scientific Reports), and disseminated in two conferences (Giaime et al., 2021 and Artzy et al., 2021).
References:
- Artzy, M., Giaime, M., Cohen, H., 2021. Vicissitudes of the Lake of Galilee water levels in antiquity: Data from the Kursi Beach excavations. American Society of Overseas Research Annual meeting. 17-20 November 2021, Chicago, USA.
- Giaime, M., Artzy, M., Cohen, H., 2021 Human adaptation to lake level changes in the Late-Holocene: Kursi Beach as an example (Sea of Galilee, Israel). 27th European Association of
- Giaime, M., Artzy, M., 2022. Using archaeological data for the understanding of the Sea of Galilee’s past level fluctuations. Scientific Reports, 12:9775. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-09768-8
