The Lake of Olympia: Sedimentary evidence of a mid- to late Holocene lake environment in the vicinity of ancient Olympia (western Peloponnese, Greece)

Lena Slabon , Lea Obrocki , Sarah Bäumler , Birgitta Eder , Peter Fischer , Hans-Joachim Gehrke , Erophili-Iris Kolia , Franziska Lang , Georg Pantelidis , Oliver Pilz , Dennis Wilken , Timo Willershäuser , Andreas Vött
{"title":"The Lake of Olympia: Sedimentary evidence of a mid- to late Holocene lake environment in the vicinity of ancient Olympia (western Peloponnese, Greece)","authors":"Lena Slabon ,&nbsp;Lea Obrocki ,&nbsp;Sarah Bäumler ,&nbsp;Birgitta Eder ,&nbsp;Peter Fischer ,&nbsp;Hans-Joachim Gehrke ,&nbsp;Erophili-Iris Kolia ,&nbsp;Franziska Lang ,&nbsp;Georg Pantelidis ,&nbsp;Oliver Pilz ,&nbsp;Dennis Wilken ,&nbsp;Timo Willershäuser ,&nbsp;Andreas Vött","doi":"10.1016/j.qeh.2025.100060","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Olympia (western Peloponnese, Greece) is known as venue for the Panhellenic Games in ancient times. The wider region is located within a complex tectonic setting and was affected by crustal uplift up to 30 m since the mid-Holocene.</div><div>Our study consists of a comprehensive investigation of the Basin of Makrisia and the adjacent Basin of Ladiko in the vicinity of ancient Olympia aiming to reconstruct the Holocene landscape development. In addition to Direct Push measurements, we present stratigraphic data of 15 sediment cores. Multi-proxy analyses of selected sediment cores, including sedimentological, geochemical and ostracod studies, allow to detect and interpret alterations in the depositional processes.</div><div>We found widespread fine-grained, low-energy sediments, implying distinct phases of limnic conditions. Radiocarbon dating indicate that this lake, the so-called Lake of Olympia, persisted from the 8th millennium BC at least until the 6th century AD, covering the main period of the cult site. Ancient Olympia was then located at the direct lake shore. The lake finally disappeared during the 13th/14th century, when the water level of the Alpheios River abruptly dropped by several meters to its present position, forming the Olympia Terrace.</div><div>We identified different ecological lake phases ranging from freshwater to eutrophic conditions. During ancient times, the water quality in front of Olympia was characterized by strong, possibly man-made eutrophication. We reconstructed lake level changes since the 1st millennium BC, noting a continuous rise until around 600 AD followed by abrupt drops in the 13th/14th century AD. In ancient times, the water depth around Olympia was deepest south of the Southern Hall.</div><div>The presence of a lake has significant consequences for the discharge regime and sediment transport of the Alpheios River and its tributaries. Also, the Lake of Olympia has relevant historical, archaeological, and geomorphological implications and raises several unsolved questions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101053,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Environments and Humans","volume":"3 1","pages":"Article 100060"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Quaternary Environments and Humans","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950236525000040","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0

Abstract

Olympia (western Peloponnese, Greece) is known as venue for the Panhellenic Games in ancient times. The wider region is located within a complex tectonic setting and was affected by crustal uplift up to 30 m since the mid-Holocene.
Our study consists of a comprehensive investigation of the Basin of Makrisia and the adjacent Basin of Ladiko in the vicinity of ancient Olympia aiming to reconstruct the Holocene landscape development. In addition to Direct Push measurements, we present stratigraphic data of 15 sediment cores. Multi-proxy analyses of selected sediment cores, including sedimentological, geochemical and ostracod studies, allow to detect and interpret alterations in the depositional processes.
We found widespread fine-grained, low-energy sediments, implying distinct phases of limnic conditions. Radiocarbon dating indicate that this lake, the so-called Lake of Olympia, persisted from the 8th millennium BC at least until the 6th century AD, covering the main period of the cult site. Ancient Olympia was then located at the direct lake shore. The lake finally disappeared during the 13th/14th century, when the water level of the Alpheios River abruptly dropped by several meters to its present position, forming the Olympia Terrace.
We identified different ecological lake phases ranging from freshwater to eutrophic conditions. During ancient times, the water quality in front of Olympia was characterized by strong, possibly man-made eutrophication. We reconstructed lake level changes since the 1st millennium BC, noting a continuous rise until around 600 AD followed by abrupt drops in the 13th/14th century AD. In ancient times, the water depth around Olympia was deepest south of the Southern Hall.
The presence of a lake has significant consequences for the discharge regime and sediment transport of the Alpheios River and its tributaries. Also, the Lake of Olympia has relevant historical, archaeological, and geomorphological implications and raises several unsolved questions.
奥林匹亚湖:古奥林匹亚(希腊伯罗奔尼撒半岛西部)附近全新世中晚期湖泊环境的沉积证据
奥林匹亚(希腊伯罗奔尼撒半岛西部)是古代泛希腊运动会的举办地。较宽的区域位于复杂的构造环境中,自全新世中期以来受到高达30 m的地壳隆升的影响。本研究对古奥林匹亚附近的Makrisia盆地和邻近的Ladiko盆地进行了全面调查,旨在重建全新世景观发展。除了直推测量外,我们还提供了15个沉积物岩心的地层数据。对选定的沉积物岩心进行多代理分析,包括沉积学、地球化学和介形虫研究,可以探测和解释沉积过程中的变化。我们发现了广泛分布的细粒、低能沉积物,这意味着不同的湖泊条件阶段。放射性碳年代测定法表明,这个湖,即所谓的奥林匹亚湖,至少从公元前8千年持续到公元6世纪,覆盖了邪教遗址的主要时期。古奥林匹亚当时位于直湖岸边。这个湖最终在13 /14世纪消失,当时阿尔菲俄斯河的水位突然下降了几米,形成了现在的位置,形成了奥林匹亚露台。我们确定了不同的生态湖泊阶段,从淡水到富营养化条件。在古代,奥林匹亚前面的水质具有强烈的特征,可能是人为的富营养化。我们重建了自公元前1千年以来的湖泊水位变化,注意到持续上升直到公元600年左右,然后在公元13 /14世纪突然下降。在古代,奥林匹亚周围的水深在南殿以南最深。湖泊的存在对阿尔菲俄斯河及其支流的流量和泥沙输送具有重要影响。此外,奥林匹亚湖具有相关的历史、考古和地貌学意义,并提出了几个尚未解决的问题。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
求助全文
约1分钟内获得全文 求助全文
来源期刊
自引率
0.00%
发文量
0
×
引用
GB/T 7714-2015
复制
MLA
复制
APA
复制
导出至
BibTeX EndNote RefMan NoteFirst NoteExpress
×
提示
您的信息不完整,为了账户安全,请先补充。
现在去补充
×
提示
您因"违规操作"
具体请查看互助需知
我知道了
×
提示
确定
请完成安全验证×
copy
已复制链接
快去分享给好友吧!
我知道了
右上角分享
点击右上角分享
0
联系我们:info@booksci.cn Book学术提供免费学术资源搜索服务,方便国内外学者检索中英文文献。致力于提供最便捷和优质的服务体验。 Copyright © 2023 布克学术 All rights reserved.
京ICP备2023020795号-1
ghs 京公网安备 11010802042870号
Book学术文献互助
Book学术文献互助群
群 号:481959085
Book学术官方微信