Geoarchaeology of the Roman harbour of Ierapetra (SE Crete, Greece)

In this paper, we reconstruct the palaeogeographical evolution of the ancient seafront of Roman Ierapetra, using historical evidence, maps and new bathymetric data. Modern human interventions in the coastal zone have significantly altered the primary data necessary for determining past sea levels. During Roman times, when the sea level was 1.30 m lower than it is at present, major technical interventions were needed in order to form a safe harbour on the coast of Ierapetra, which was exposed to southerly waves. It was then that an elongated eastern breakwater was constructed that bounded the basin of the outer harbour to the east. The inner and outer beachrock reefs were the southern and northern boundaries of the basin, respectively. The western breakwater was constructed by using the outer beachrock reef and a small islet aligned with it. The inner basin was formed by extending the western breakwater further to the west and joining it to the coast.