The Holocene 2016, Vol. 26(9) 1457–1471 © The Author(s) 2016 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0959683616640055 hol.sagepub.com Introduction Many accounts have reported that along the microtidal Mediter- ranean coasts in the late Holocene, several river mouths devel- oped deltas of variable width according to the dynamic equilibrium between the rate of sea level rise and the solid river discharge (Arnaud-Fassetta and Provansal, 1999; Bellotti et al., 1994, 1995, 2003; Correggiari et al., 2005; Coutellier and Stanley, 1987; Gen- sous et al., 1993; Milli et al., 2013; Somoza et al., 1998; Vella et al., 2005). The determinations of the evolutionary patterns of Mediterra- nean deltaic areas have frequently revealed the palaeoenviron- ments at the times of the development of ancient settlements and are a valuable aid to archaeological research (Arnaud-Fassetta et al., 2003; Bellotti et al., 2011; Bicket et al., 2009; Di Bella et al., 2011; Di Rita et al., 2010; Giraudi, 2011; Giraudi et al., 2009; Goiran et al., 2009, 2014; Marriner and Morhange, 2006, 2007; Sadori et al., 2015; Stanley, 2005; Stanley and Bernasconi, 2006, 2009). This paper addresses the palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the delta plain of the Garigliano River in the area where the river divides two depressions that are almost paral- lel to the coast and are constrained between two strand plains. On the inner strand plain, which is referred to the Eutyrrhenian Middle-to late-Holocene environmental changes in the Garigliano delta plain (Central Italy): which landscape witnessed the development of the Minturnae Roman colony? Piero Bellotti, 1 Gilberto Calderoni, 1,2 Pier Luigi Dall’Aglio, 3 Carmine D’Amico, 4 Lina Davoli, 1 Letizia Di Bella, 1 Maurizio D’Orefice, 5 Daniela Esu, 1 Kevin Ferrari, 3 Marta Bandini Mazzanti, 6 Anna Maria Mercuri, 6 Claudia Tarragoni 7 and Paola Torri 6 Abstract Geomorphologic, stratigraphic, faunistic, palynological and 14 C analyses were carried out in the area of the mouth of the Garigliano River characterized by two strand plains that are referred to the Eutyrrhenian and the Holocene, rimming two depressed zones separated by the Garigliano River channel. This study depicts the palaeoenvironmental evolution over the last 8200 years and the landscape context at the time of Minturnae Roman colony. Between 8200 and 7500 yr BP, a wet zone occurred in the northern zone, whereas in the southern part, a lagoon developed. During the final transgression stage and the beginning of the sea level still stand (7500–5500 yr BP), a freshwater marsh formed in the northern zone, and the width of the southern lagoon decreased. Between 5500 and 3000 yr BP, the coastal barrier changed into a delta cusp, a freshwater marsh also appeared in the southern part and the river wandered between the twin marshes. Because of local uplift, previously unknown in this area, part of the floor of the southern marsh emerged, and after 4000 yr BP, both marshes became coastal ponds with prevailing clastic sedimentation. A progressive increment in anthropic forcing on the land took place after 3000 yr BP. The Marica sanctuary was built (7th century BC), and the Roman colony of Minturnae was developed beginning the 3rd century BC. The shallow depth of the ponds prevented their use as harbours, and saltwork plants can be ruled out based on the faunal and palynological data. The ongoing infilling of both ponds was never completed, and their reclamation is still in progress. Keywords delta, environmental changes, geoarchaeology, Holocene landscapes, palynology, wetlands Received 8 February 2016; revised manuscript accepted 19 February 2016 1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Sapienza –Università di Roma, Italy 2 Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria, CNR, Italy 3 Dipartimento di Storia, Culture, Civiltà, Università di Bologna, Italy 4 Dipartimento di Bioscienze e Territorio, Università degli Studi del Molise, Italy 5 Servizio Geologico d’Italia Roma, ISPRA, Italy 6 Laboratorio di Palinologia e Paleobotanica, Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita, Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Italy 7 AIGeo – Italian Association of Physical Geography and Geomorphology, Italy Corresponding author: Piero Bellotti, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Sapienza – Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy. Email: piero.bellotti@uniroma1.it 640055HOL 0 0 10.1177/0959683616640055The HoloceneBellotti et al. research-article 2016 Research paper by guest on September 5, 2016 hol.sagepub.com Downloaded from