Scientific Coordinator: Prof. Francesco Iacono
Period: January to June 2026 (dates to be confirmed)
Attendance: not defined
Place: not defined
Admitted students: 12
Email: francesco.iacono5@unibo.it
Aims
The coastal environment is defined as the transition zone between marine and continental processes, consisting of countless highly dynamic environments and sub-environments, whose morphological, physical, and biological characteristics are continuously influenced by the action and interaction of a large number of natural, climatic, and anthropogenic factors. These environments have always been attractive for settlement by populations for strategic, economic, social, and productive reasons. For this reason, the multidisciplinary potential that geoarchaeology offers in this context is extremely important. A careful reading of the characteristics of the ancient coastal landscape is, in fact, crucial for advancing hypotheses about the evolution of river, lagoon, and marine systems and for understanding the settlement strategies and exploitation of the peculiarities of various environments, such as wetlands and areas protected from hydrogeological risks (e.g., flooding and tides). Operationally, the study of coastal environments must include an investigation conducted with an inductive approach, based on both field (fieldwalking, direct prospection) and remote surveys (Lidar, Aerial Photos, geophysiscs).
Suggested readings
Bird E.C.F., 2008, Coastal geomorphology: an introduction, 2nd ed. ed, Geostudies. Wiley, Chichester, England Hoboken, NJ.
Fitzpatrick, S.M., Erlandson, J.M. (Eds.), 2023, The Oxford Handbook of Island and Coastal Archaeology, 1st ed. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197607770.001.0001
