Sarti Giovanni | Università di Pisa (original) (raw)
Papers by Sarti Giovanni
Two statistical analyses of gravel clasts from the Lower Pleistocene deposits in the Lower Cecina... more Two statistical analyses of gravel clasts from the Lower Pleistocene deposits in the Lower Cecina Valley (Tuscany, Italy) have been combined to unravel changes in the palaeo-drainage system. Data from 16 outcrops were collected and 6400 clasts described. Facies ...
After defining the area of investigation, the methods used for acquiring new data will be describ... more After defining the area of investigation, the methods used for acquiring new data will be described. The archaeologists will address the problems encountered with the archives and the status oof documentation, the sedimentologists will identify the area for continuous coring, whilst the geomorphologists will base their analyses on micro-relief, photointerpretation and remote sensing techniques. Finally, the mathematicians will describe the classic page rank model, adapted to the determination of archaeological potential.
Riassunto - Il presente lavoro ha come obiettivo l'analisi di facies e la ricostruzione degli... more Riassunto - Il presente lavoro ha come obiettivo l'analisi di facies e la ricostruzione degli ambienti deposizionali della por- zione basale, terrigena, della successione sedimentaria del Cretaceo superiore che affiora nel versante sud della Sierra de Guadarrama, situato poche decine di chilometri a nord della città di Madrid, che è parte della catena montuosa chiamata «Sistema Central». Le formazioni studiate
Journal of Archelogical Science, 2014
Despite several studies have focused on the past bio-sedimentary response of the Mediterranean co... more Despite several studies have focused on the past bio-sedimentary response of the Mediterranean coastal areas to ancient seaport activities, only few geoarchaeological and palaeoecological data are available on strictly lacustrine harbours, to date. At the archaeological site of Magdala/Taricheae (Sea of Galilee, north Israel), an interdisciplinary study, combining ostracod fauna composition and shell chemistry with sedimentology, geochemistry of sediments and archaeological data, was undertaken on the sedimentary succession buried beneath the Roman harbour structures in correspondence of two key-sections. This approach provided detailed information about past environmental changes, otherwise not visible, into a high-resolution pottery-based chronological framework at the transition from a natural (pre-harbour) to anthropogenically influenced (harbour) lacustrine depositional setting. New bio-sedimentary and archaeological (pottery) data document that remarkable hydrodynamic and hydrochemical changes took place during the Hellenistic period (from the 3 rd e2 nd century BC to the first half of the 1 st century AD), in response to the construction of the oldest Magdala harbour installations and, possibly, to the following Hasmonean structures. The high VeCr concentrations observed in the harbour sediments, and the substantial increase of ostracod species (Pseudocandona albicans) preferring slow moving waters and fine-grained substrates point to the establishment of a semi-enclosed, shallow, and organic-rich setting. Coupled ostracod-geochemical analyses also testify to an alkali ions (Na þ and K þ) enrichment within whole-sediment samples, reasonably driven by increasing evaporation in response to the partial isolation of the lake margin. The increase in sodium and potassium concentrations is accompanied by the sudden appearance of Heterocypris salina, a brackish-tolerant species, and by the almost absolute dominance of noded valves of Cyprideis torosa, whose shells are enriched in Na, K and Cl. The positive covariance between Na 2 O þ K 2 O values and the frequencies of noded C. torosa seems to confirm the relation between node development and changes in ionic concentration within hypohaline settings.
Magdala harbour sedimentation (Sea of Galilee, Israel), from natural to anthropogenic control, 2013
This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the a... more This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the author for internal non-commercial research and education use, including for instruction at the authors institution and sharing with colleagues. Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling or licensing copies, or posting to personal, institutional or third party websites are prohibited. In most cases authors are permitted to post their version of the article (e.g. in Word or Tex form) to their personal website or institutional repository. Authors requiring further information regarding Elsevier's archiving and manuscript policies are encouraged to visit: http://www.elsevier.com/authorsrights a b s t r a c t Recent excavations undertaken within the framework of the "Magdala Project" in the ancient city of Magdala/Tarichaee, located on the western shore of Sea of Galilee (northern Israel), have unearthed a harbour structure extending for more than 100 m, dating from the late Hellenistic (167e63 BC) to the middle Roman (70e270 AD) period, with well-preserved quays and mooring stones. An integrated (sedimentological, micropalaeontological and archaeological) study of the late Holocene sedimentary succession buried beneath the ancient harbour area reveals the harbour's main evolutionary stages, shedding new light on the natural versus anthropogenic control on sedimentation. Three sedimentary sequences, a few decimeters thick, reflect the recent palaeoenvironmental evolution of the Magdala area. These include: 1) a pre-harbour foundation sequence; 2) a harbour sequence; and 3) a harbour aban-donment sequence. Above the natural sandy beachface deposits, subject to wave reworking (pre-harbour facies), the abrupt transition to dark silty sands with high metal concentrations reveals the onset of an anthropogenic control on coastal sedimentation through the construction of harbour structures (harbour facies). The overlying, vertically stacked sand and gravel beach deposits (post-harbour facies), record harbour siltation and abandonment at the transition from the Middle to the Late Roman period (270 e350 AD).
Landscapes and Societies, 2010
... wards a major aqueduct was built by the Florentine Medici family from a locality (Asciano ...... more ... wards a major aqueduct was built by the Florentine Medici family from a locality (Asciano ... implemented, provoked by the increas-ing demand of the growing populations of Florence and Pisa. In late 1500s the cultivation of the mulberry trees (for the silk industry), olive, and wine ...
Using a multidisciplinary approach involving geologists, geomorphologists and archeologists, the ... more Using a multidisciplinary approach involving geologists, geomorphologists and archeologists, the late Holocene sedimentary succession buried beneath the ancient Magdala harbour area (Kinneret Lake, Israel) was studied, in order to highlight the strict relationships among harbour evolutive phases (eg foundation, siltation, abandonment), natural events (eg sea-level variations, climatic changes and earthquakes among the most important) and, obviously, archaeological history. Recent excavations performed within ...
The definition of pebble transport and movement along the shore has been subject of revived inter... more The definition of pebble transport and movement along the shore has been subject of revived interest lately mainly because of significant advancement in the technologies that enable to trace such coarse sediments. The chance to improve the understanding of a topic sometimes neglected in the past has been favoured by recent refinements on the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, which has proved to be a reliable tracing technique, perfectly suitable for pebble-sized sediments. The RFID technique allows to couple the pebbles to small, discoidal transponders (tags). These " smart " pebbles are detected back by an antenna (reader), which transmits low frequency (125 KHz) radio signals. The choice to opt for the low frequency was suggested by its capability to better transmit and receive the radio signals even underwater. The research was performed on an artificial pebble beach at Marina di Pisa (Tuscany, Italy), a small village located on the Pisa coast, which has been subjected to serious erosive processes since 1850. The original sandy beaches could not be preserved, thus prompting local authorities to plan coarse replenishments. The artificial beach, named Barbarossa, was set up in its final configuration in 2007. Presently, it is 110 m long and 20-to-35 m wide. It is bound laterally by two groynes, which impede longshore sediment movement. One-hundred and two pebbles were sampled on the beach and carefully prepared for the installation of the transponders, which univocally identify the pebbles because each tag possesses an unambiguous code. The tracers were injected on the beach along cross-shore tran-sects, three pebbles each (on the fair-weather berm, on the beachface, and on the step crest). The release position of each tracer was recorded with a total station. The recovery campaign was carried out after three storms, which all came from the same direction (SW). Fifty-three smart pebbles were found back, which is not a negative outcome considering the high rates of sediment reworking on the backshore of Barbarossa due to the intense wave energy this beach is subjected to during the storms. The recovery position of the pebbles was recorded as well. The analysis of the tracer displacement pattern highlighted a tendency of the sediments to move towards the storm berm, where 55% of the smart pebbles was detected. This movement is probably related to the energy of the incoming waves, hardly dissipating in the surf zone of Barbarossa. The waves unload their energy almost entirely on the beachface, where they force a sediment onshore movement rather than offshore. In addition, the smart pebble transport pathways outlined the presence of two distinct convergence area at Barbarossa. The tracers showed the tendency to converge to two separate sectors along the beach. A topographic survey of the sea-bottom fronting the beach was carried out prior to the recovery campaign by means of a single-beam echo-sounder. Data processing showed the presence of two portions of the sea-floor characterized by shallower depth. These shoals are just opposite to the two convergence areas pointed out by the pebble movement. These features of the sea-bottom might imply refraction and diffraction processes of the incoming waves, which in turn are responsible of the generation of convergent fluxes on the beachface. The convergent pattern of these fluxes leads to the transport trend of the smart pebbles. These results confirm the existence of a tight connection between the sea-bottom morphology and sediment transport on a beach. In-depth considerations about pebble movement on a coarse-grained beach might be useful to an optimization of future coarse replenishments, since they are frequently used as a form of coastal protection. In addition, a better definition of the dynamics acting on this environment might support studies on similar, ancient depositional settings. 174
Two statistical analyses of gravel clasts from the Lower Pleistocene deposits in the Lower Cecina... more Two statistical analyses of gravel clasts from the Lower Pleistocene deposits in the Lower Cecina Valley (Tuscany, Italy) have been combined to unravel changes in the palaeo-drainage system. Data from 16 outcrops were collected and 6400 clasts described. Facies ...
After defining the area of investigation, the methods used for acquiring new data will be describ... more After defining the area of investigation, the methods used for acquiring new data will be described. The archaeologists will address the problems encountered with the archives and the status oof documentation, the sedimentologists will identify the area for continuous coring, whilst the geomorphologists will base their analyses on micro-relief, photointerpretation and remote sensing techniques. Finally, the mathematicians will describe the classic page rank model, adapted to the determination of archaeological potential.
Riassunto - Il presente lavoro ha come obiettivo l'analisi di facies e la ricostruzione degli... more Riassunto - Il presente lavoro ha come obiettivo l'analisi di facies e la ricostruzione degli ambienti deposizionali della por- zione basale, terrigena, della successione sedimentaria del Cretaceo superiore che affiora nel versante sud della Sierra de Guadarrama, situato poche decine di chilometri a nord della città di Madrid, che è parte della catena montuosa chiamata «Sistema Central». Le formazioni studiate
Journal of Archelogical Science, 2014
Despite several studies have focused on the past bio-sedimentary response of the Mediterranean co... more Despite several studies have focused on the past bio-sedimentary response of the Mediterranean coastal areas to ancient seaport activities, only few geoarchaeological and palaeoecological data are available on strictly lacustrine harbours, to date. At the archaeological site of Magdala/Taricheae (Sea of Galilee, north Israel), an interdisciplinary study, combining ostracod fauna composition and shell chemistry with sedimentology, geochemistry of sediments and archaeological data, was undertaken on the sedimentary succession buried beneath the Roman harbour structures in correspondence of two key-sections. This approach provided detailed information about past environmental changes, otherwise not visible, into a high-resolution pottery-based chronological framework at the transition from a natural (pre-harbour) to anthropogenically influenced (harbour) lacustrine depositional setting. New bio-sedimentary and archaeological (pottery) data document that remarkable hydrodynamic and hydrochemical changes took place during the Hellenistic period (from the 3 rd e2 nd century BC to the first half of the 1 st century AD), in response to the construction of the oldest Magdala harbour installations and, possibly, to the following Hasmonean structures. The high VeCr concentrations observed in the harbour sediments, and the substantial increase of ostracod species (Pseudocandona albicans) preferring slow moving waters and fine-grained substrates point to the establishment of a semi-enclosed, shallow, and organic-rich setting. Coupled ostracod-geochemical analyses also testify to an alkali ions (Na þ and K þ) enrichment within whole-sediment samples, reasonably driven by increasing evaporation in response to the partial isolation of the lake margin. The increase in sodium and potassium concentrations is accompanied by the sudden appearance of Heterocypris salina, a brackish-tolerant species, and by the almost absolute dominance of noded valves of Cyprideis torosa, whose shells are enriched in Na, K and Cl. The positive covariance between Na 2 O þ K 2 O values and the frequencies of noded C. torosa seems to confirm the relation between node development and changes in ionic concentration within hypohaline settings.
Magdala harbour sedimentation (Sea of Galilee, Israel), from natural to anthropogenic control, 2013
This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the a... more This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the author for internal non-commercial research and education use, including for instruction at the authors institution and sharing with colleagues. Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling or licensing copies, or posting to personal, institutional or third party websites are prohibited. In most cases authors are permitted to post their version of the article (e.g. in Word or Tex form) to their personal website or institutional repository. Authors requiring further information regarding Elsevier's archiving and manuscript policies are encouraged to visit: http://www.elsevier.com/authorsrights a b s t r a c t Recent excavations undertaken within the framework of the "Magdala Project" in the ancient city of Magdala/Tarichaee, located on the western shore of Sea of Galilee (northern Israel), have unearthed a harbour structure extending for more than 100 m, dating from the late Hellenistic (167e63 BC) to the middle Roman (70e270 AD) period, with well-preserved quays and mooring stones. An integrated (sedimentological, micropalaeontological and archaeological) study of the late Holocene sedimentary succession buried beneath the ancient harbour area reveals the harbour's main evolutionary stages, shedding new light on the natural versus anthropogenic control on sedimentation. Three sedimentary sequences, a few decimeters thick, reflect the recent palaeoenvironmental evolution of the Magdala area. These include: 1) a pre-harbour foundation sequence; 2) a harbour sequence; and 3) a harbour aban-donment sequence. Above the natural sandy beachface deposits, subject to wave reworking (pre-harbour facies), the abrupt transition to dark silty sands with high metal concentrations reveals the onset of an anthropogenic control on coastal sedimentation through the construction of harbour structures (harbour facies). The overlying, vertically stacked sand and gravel beach deposits (post-harbour facies), record harbour siltation and abandonment at the transition from the Middle to the Late Roman period (270 e350 AD).
Landscapes and Societies, 2010
... wards a major aqueduct was built by the Florentine Medici family from a locality (Asciano ...... more ... wards a major aqueduct was built by the Florentine Medici family from a locality (Asciano ... implemented, provoked by the increas-ing demand of the growing populations of Florence and Pisa. In late 1500s the cultivation of the mulberry trees (for the silk industry), olive, and wine ...
Using a multidisciplinary approach involving geologists, geomorphologists and archeologists, the ... more Using a multidisciplinary approach involving geologists, geomorphologists and archeologists, the late Holocene sedimentary succession buried beneath the ancient Magdala harbour area (Kinneret Lake, Israel) was studied, in order to highlight the strict relationships among harbour evolutive phases (eg foundation, siltation, abandonment), natural events (eg sea-level variations, climatic changes and earthquakes among the most important) and, obviously, archaeological history. Recent excavations performed within ...
The definition of pebble transport and movement along the shore has been subject of revived inter... more The definition of pebble transport and movement along the shore has been subject of revived interest lately mainly because of significant advancement in the technologies that enable to trace such coarse sediments. The chance to improve the understanding of a topic sometimes neglected in the past has been favoured by recent refinements on the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, which has proved to be a reliable tracing technique, perfectly suitable for pebble-sized sediments. The RFID technique allows to couple the pebbles to small, discoidal transponders (tags). These " smart " pebbles are detected back by an antenna (reader), which transmits low frequency (125 KHz) radio signals. The choice to opt for the low frequency was suggested by its capability to better transmit and receive the radio signals even underwater. The research was performed on an artificial pebble beach at Marina di Pisa (Tuscany, Italy), a small village located on the Pisa coast, which has been subjected to serious erosive processes since 1850. The original sandy beaches could not be preserved, thus prompting local authorities to plan coarse replenishments. The artificial beach, named Barbarossa, was set up in its final configuration in 2007. Presently, it is 110 m long and 20-to-35 m wide. It is bound laterally by two groynes, which impede longshore sediment movement. One-hundred and two pebbles were sampled on the beach and carefully prepared for the installation of the transponders, which univocally identify the pebbles because each tag possesses an unambiguous code. The tracers were injected on the beach along cross-shore tran-sects, three pebbles each (on the fair-weather berm, on the beachface, and on the step crest). The release position of each tracer was recorded with a total station. The recovery campaign was carried out after three storms, which all came from the same direction (SW). Fifty-three smart pebbles were found back, which is not a negative outcome considering the high rates of sediment reworking on the backshore of Barbarossa due to the intense wave energy this beach is subjected to during the storms. The recovery position of the pebbles was recorded as well. The analysis of the tracer displacement pattern highlighted a tendency of the sediments to move towards the storm berm, where 55% of the smart pebbles was detected. This movement is probably related to the energy of the incoming waves, hardly dissipating in the surf zone of Barbarossa. The waves unload their energy almost entirely on the beachface, where they force a sediment onshore movement rather than offshore. In addition, the smart pebble transport pathways outlined the presence of two distinct convergence area at Barbarossa. The tracers showed the tendency to converge to two separate sectors along the beach. A topographic survey of the sea-bottom fronting the beach was carried out prior to the recovery campaign by means of a single-beam echo-sounder. Data processing showed the presence of two portions of the sea-floor characterized by shallower depth. These shoals are just opposite to the two convergence areas pointed out by the pebble movement. These features of the sea-bottom might imply refraction and diffraction processes of the incoming waves, which in turn are responsible of the generation of convergent fluxes on the beachface. The convergent pattern of these fluxes leads to the transport trend of the smart pebbles. These results confirm the existence of a tight connection between the sea-bottom morphology and sediment transport on a beach. In-depth considerations about pebble movement on a coarse-grained beach might be useful to an optimization of future coarse replenishments, since they are frequently used as a form of coastal protection. In addition, a better definition of the dynamics acting on this environment might support studies on similar, ancient depositional settings. 174