Sinope, ville reine du monde pontique1 Pendant la deuxième moitié du Ier siècle av. J.-C., au moins deux historiens-géographes grecs qualifiaient Sinope, fondation milésienne micrasiatique, au bord de la « Mer “Hospitalière” », à l’aide des superlatifs de la « valeur », dérivés du grec a [ἄξιος : pour Diodore de Sicile, le retour des Dix-Mille, à la fin du Ve siècle, passait par Sinope, laquelle « tenait le premier rang dans la région » (μέγιστον εἶχεν ἀξίωμα τῶν περὶ τους τόπους, 14.31.2) ; p...

We combined biostratigraphical analyses, archaeological surveys, and Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) models to provide new insights into the relative sea-level evolution in the northeastern Aegean Sea (eastern Mediterranean). In this area, characterized by a very complex tectonic pattern, we produced a new typology of sea-level index point, based on the foraminiferal associations found in transgressive marine facies. Our results agree with the sea-level history previously produced in this region, therefore confirming the validity of this new type of index point. The expanded dataset presented in this paper further demonstrates a continuous Holocene RSL rise in this portion of the Aegean Sea. Comparing the new RSL record with the available geophysical predictions of sea-level evolution indicates that the crustal subsidence of the Samothraki Plateau and the North Aegean Trough played a major role in controlling millennial-scale sea-level evolution in the area. This major subsidence rate needs to be taken into account in the preparation of local future scenarios of sea-level rise in the coming decades.

This paper documents the Late-Holocene environmental changes and human presence in the northern Danube delta using a multidisciplinary approach that combines geoscientific data with archaeological findings, historical texts, and maps. It follows the formation and progression of the Chilia distributary and the reconfiguration of socioeconomic activities. Sedimentary facies identified on five new cores by changes in texture properties, magnetic susceptibility, geochemistry, and macro- and microfauna composition together with the newly obtained chronology constrain the complex evolution of the Chilia branch as filling in a long-lasting bay and then of a giant lagoon (Thiagola) which covered most of the northern delta since the Old Danube lobe inception (ca. 7500 yrs BP) till modern Chilia development. It initiated during the Greek Antiquity (ca. 2500 yrs ar BP) at the delta apex, while in Roman times (ca. 1800 yrs BP) it pursued its slow flowing into the vast Thiagola Lagoon. The most dramatic transformations occurred in the last 800 years when the river passed east of the Chilia promontory, rapidly went through the present-day Matița-Merhei basin (several decades), and created its first open-sea outlet. Solid discharge increased in two distinct periods, once in the Middle Ages (ca. 750 yrs BP) and then in the Modern Period (ca. 150 yrs BP) due to human-induced land-use changes in the Danube watershed. The chronology of the cultural remains on the pre-deltaic Chilia promontory and the multiproxy analysis of a sediment core retrieved nearby downstream suggest the terrestrial connection of the island with the mainland in ancient times. The hitherto contended issue of the old Thiagola Lagoon and its location are redefined here, as are the original identifications of ancient and medieval toponyms and hydronyms, especially for Chilia-Licostomo, Byzantine, Genoese, Moldavian, Ottoman, and Russian trading point of great importance in the political and economic history of the Black Sea and neighboring regions.

Before the closing of its lagoons and the progradation of the Hebros delta, Ainos took advantage of an almost insulate position, which made it one of the main hubs between the Greek Aegean and the Thracian hinterland. Annual Turkish archaeological excavations (since 1973) and international geoarchaeological research (since 2011-2012) have revealed several components of the polis’ territory (necropoleis, roads, anchoring sites, fortifications) and offered information about the ecological impact of the Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman occupation on the natural environment. This article is a short critical synthesis of these discoveries, which can serve as a basis for the reconstruction of Ainos’ environmental history.

<!--BeginNoIndex--> Premières lignes <!--EndNoIndex-->À la suite du numéro consacré aux transferts entre cultures distinctes, ce dossier pose le problème de la transmission des idées entre communautés qui se perçoivent ou sont perçues comme identiques ou analogues. Contrairement à la plupart des études sur les transferts culturels, dans ce cas l’analyse des identités collectives ne se focalise plus sur des emprunts « étrangers ». Elle met en avant l’homogénéité...