Holocene environmental changes in the coastal Tavoliere Plain (Apulia, southern Italy): A multiproxy approach

Pollen, molluscs and foraminifera are used to reconstruct Holocene environmental changes in the Palude Frattarolo–Lago Salso area (Tavoliere Plain, Apulia, Italy) near the Coppa Nevigata archaeological site. This settlement, inhabited from the Early Neolithic to the Iron Age, was situated on the edge of a broad lagoon that extended for some 40 km along the eastern margin of the Tavoliere Plain. The paleoenvironmental history was investigated using an 8.6 m deep core drilled in the ancient lagoon. The records show a shoaling-upwards sequence characterised by a semi-closed lagoonal environment that gradually became isolated from the sea and ultimately transformed into a terrestrial environment. The semi-closed lagoon was in existence between 6340 and 4880 cal. yr BP and contained a brackish environment with a moderate input of sea water, undergoing frequent changes in size and salinity. The vegetational landscape at this time was dominated by mixed oak forests. Between 4880 and 3230 cal. yr BP the semi-closed lagoon turned into a closed waterbody. The surrounding landscape opened around 4000 cal. yr BP, similar to many other sites in the central Mediterranean region. A hiatus in deposition occurred between 3230 and somewhat before 180 cal. yr BP, when a freshwater environment prevailed and the area was an open and dry grassland. Our multiproxy approach shows that during the last few thousand years large natural habitats of northern Apulia were progressively reduced in size. In spite of an ancient human occupation, a mainly natural cause for the evolution of the lagoon appears most likely.