Geoarchaeological Research in the Northern Claudian Mole at Portus
Résumé
The western spatial extent of the Claudius Harbour moles in Portus is well established after
the collection and analysis of numerous sediment cores (Morelli et al., 2001) and geophysical
surveys (Keay et al., 2009) conducted over the past fifteen years. Recent research focuses on
determining whether ancient Roman harbour infrastructures were constructive, specifically
the moles that were built to protect the harbour. The objective of this study is to provide a
higher resolution sedimentological reconstruction of the western Claudian Northern Mole
(NM) in order to ascertain the effectiveness of the structure and its impact on the regional
coastal environment. This project will involve examining three sediment cores (CL32-10m,
CL31-16m, and CL30-22m) collected around the NM (Figure). A combination of
sedimentological analysis (e.g. grain size and mineralogical identification using Mid-Infrared
Spectrometry [MIR]) and biostratigraphic analysis will be conducted as well as radiocarbon
dating of macrofossils for age-depth modelling. This research is important for understanding
the engineering complexities behind ancient Roman harbours and will provide further
contextual background for archaeological research in Portus.