-Iournal of Coastal Research :326-331 Royal Palm Beach, Florida Spring 1999

Evaluating Use of Rock-Hewn Features for Sea LevelMeasurement, Israeli Coast

Daniel Jean Stanley

Deltas-Global Change ProgramE-206 NMNH, PaleobiologySmithsonian InstitutionWashington D.C. 20560, U.S.A.

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STANLEY, D.J., 1999. Evaluating Use of Rock-Hewn Features for Sea Level Measurement, Israeli Coast. Journal ofCoastal Research, 15(2), 326-331. Royal Palm Beach (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

Israel's Mediterranean coast, positioned on a structurally active margin, shifted vertically to some extent during thelate Holocene. Consequently, changes of relative sea-level that account for both eustatic sea level and land motionare subtle and generally difficult to measure. This study evaluates the value of pools and other anthropogenic rock­cut features used to measure changes of sea level during the late Holocene. A number of these depressions, originallyformed to retain fish and for other purposes, still function at present sea level. Most rock-hewn pools and channelson the Israeli margin have been dated to Roman, Byzantine and Crusader periods, usually through indirect associationwith archaeological sites and other structures in the vicinity. In fact only a few of these features, such as the piscinaat Caesarea with affixed mosaics, are accurately dated. It is proposed here that some rock-cut features on broad flatplatforms, or trottoirs, at elevations close to present sea level, were formed in more recent time, possibly in associationwith quarry operations and removal of coastal rock material for construction during the past few centuries. Unless arock-cut feature can be reliably dated, it should not be used to determine sea level or land motion on this geologicallycomplex margin.

ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS: Archaeological sites, eustatic sea level, historic time, Holocene, Israeli coast, hurhar.Mediterranean, neotectonics, piscinas, relative sea-level. rock-cut pools.

INTRODUCTION

Sea level and land are believed to have shifted along theIsraeli margin during the late Holocene, but measurement oftheir vertical displacement is difficult and remains a topic ofconsiderable complexity. Some studies indicate large fluctu­ations of sea level during the past 2 millennia (SNEH andKLEIN, 1984; MART, 1996, 1997), yet others record only minoror, in some cases, virtually no sea-level variation on the coastduring this same period (FLINDER, 1976, 1985; GALILI andSHARVIT, 1997). Moreover, some investigations have pro­posed that the Israeli coast proper during this time was af­fected by important vertical shifts of land (LEWY et al., 1986;NEEV et al., 1987), while other studies indicate that struc­tural displacement has been more moderate (FLEMMING andWEBB, 1986; RABAN, 1986; EMERYet al., 1988; NIR, 1997), oreven minor (MAZOR, 1974; MARTand PERECMAN, 1996; GAL­ILl and SHARVIT, 1997).

The basis for these interpretations is mapping of the lat­erally variable deposits that form Israel's relatively short«200 km) Mediterranean coast and of the shore-parallel andshore-perpendicular faults that have offset some stretches ofthis margin (EMERY and NEEV, 1960; GVIRTZMAN andKLANG, 1972; NEEV et al., 1987). The coast of Israel receivesthe brunt of waves driven to the ESE across the eastern Med­iterranean (CARMEL et al., 1984), resulting in erosion and ac­tive dispersal of sediment by strong nearshore currents

98164 received and accepted in revision 10 July 1998.

(GOLDSMITH and GOLIK, 1980; INMAN and JENKINS, 1984;STANLEY et al., 1998). As a consequence of structural control,fault offset and high energy wave regime, the coastal config­uration is gently arcuate (Figure 1), with only minor shore­line crenulations and irregularities between Gaza and Haifa(ORNI and ELISHA, 1971). The only large coastal reentry isHaifa Bay on the northern margin between Haifa and Acre,an integral part of the NW-SE trending Mount Carmel tec­tonic province.

Sandy beaches and beachrock are backed by dunes, es­pecially along the southern coast north of Gaza and in HaifaBay (Figure 1). High and steep wave-cut cliffs formed of eas­ily eroded unconsolidated sediment characterize sectors ofthe central coast, while distinct elongate ridges formed bymore resistant kurkar (carbonate-cemented sandstone) areexposed on much of the north-central and northern margins.Along some stretches, indurated kurkar strata of differentQuaternary age are superposed and tilted seaward (GVIRTZ­MAN et al., 1983-1984), and as many as 4 parallel ridges arerecorded offshore at and north of Gaza (EMERY and BENTOR,1960; NIR, 1984; NEEV et al., 1987; EUROCONSULT and IWA­CO, 1994).

Of special interest in the present study are kurkar expo­sures at and near the coast (Figure 2) shaped by coastal ero­sion, and also incised by quarrying operations that left broad(locally to ~ 100 m) flat platforms, or trottoirs. These are com­monly exposed at elevations near (Figure 2C), or just above(Figure 2D), or somewhat below (Figure 2E) present sea level.

Sea Level Measurement

OBSERVATIONS IN LIGHT OF RELATIVESEA LEVEL

during the past 2500 years ago, or since Persian, or Phoeni­cian, time. Nearly 200 publications were considered for thisstudy. Some studies emphasize remarkable 'elevator style'up-and-down oscillations (for example, a vertical shift of'nearly 2 m from 1500 to 700 years ago, or to 2.5 mm/yr. atDol' and Caesarea; SNEH and KLEIN, 1984; MAHT, 1997). ()th­er investigations, however, favor more modest (NIH, 1997)and/or only minor «0.5 mm/yr or less) sea-level changes(FLINnER, 1976, 1985; GALI!.I and SHAHVIT, 1997 L

In addition to sea-level changes, there have been variousinterpretations on recent neotectonics and the associatedland shifts along different sectors of the Israeli coast. Thesechanges would have affected late Holocene sea level position.and are grouped into ;3 categories: (1 ) a small number of stud­ies propose large-scale tectonic motion; (2) a somewhat larg'ernumber of investigations indicate a more modest shift; and(;3) a growing number of studies favor only minor or no landdisplacement.

Several investigations emphasize considerable vertical d is­placement. such as at Akhziv on the northern Israeli (,()~lst

where extensive uplift to 7-8 m during the past 2000 yearsii,« to 4 mrn/yr ) was proposed (NEEV et 01., 197:3, 19H7: LI<\\'Yc! al.. 1986). Such interpretations are based on surficial geo­logic mappiru; and geophysical surveys coupled with arch.rc­ological information. However. in the C:'lse of mure ext n'flH'

neotectonic scenarios, such as at Ak hziv, the ardl~l('olog'i('al

evidence used to substantiate such large-scale' vc-rt.icul landmotion has been seriously questioned (MAZ< )1\, 1974: I{<)~ !<:'\.

1980).In marked contrast, other studies, including those that cm­

phasize archaeological findings, favor 1110n' modest or no l.mr]

mot.ion at the coast proper during the past 2500 vea rs. Alllongarguments proposed for minor neotectonics or stable struc­tural conditions are those proposing use of anthropogenic ('ea­

Lures that appear to have functioned for relatively long pe­riods of time, are dated to historic periods, and are positionedat elevations proximal to present sea level (Figure 2 l. (~it<'d

in that respect are water wells (NII{ and ELnAH, 19H7; CALI1,1

and NII{, 199:j; NIl{, 1997) and depressions such as pools,tanks and channels cut into kurkar. These depressions maybe round or rectangular (Figure 2), and were hewn at sealevel for decorative use (piscinas) and for practical purposes(salinas, fish ponds, basins for live muricid gastropods col­lected for purple dye). I have observed 18 of these rock-cutfeatures, primarily on the north-central and northern coastat an elevation close to sea level (Figure 1). Many studieshave called attention to the fact that some of these pools arestill functional (FLINDER, 1976, 1985; SNEH and KLEIN, 1984;RABAN, 1986; MART, 1996, 1997; MART and PERECMAN,1996; GALILI and SHARVIT, 1997).

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Prehistoric and historic sites and individual structures posi­tioned along the shoreline, and also some that are sub­merged, provide additional data to measure coastal shifts ofland and sea level. Dated archaeological features, combinedwith associated physiographic and geological information,have been used to interpret the recent evolution of Israel'sMediterranean coast (FLEMMING and WEBB, 1986; GALILI etal., 1988). The present study, however, indicates that use ofsome anthropogenic structures, and particularly poorly or un­reliably dated rock-cut features, can result in misleading in­terpretations of late Holocene sea-level fluctuations on thismargin.

Figure 1. Map, modified from El\1EHY and NEE\' (1~)()()), showing posi­tion of some rock-cut features on coastal kurkar strata of tlu- lsrncl i mar­gin. Modern cities are denoted by normal font., and archat'ological sitesby italics: st.ippl ing indicates 1wachl's backed by broad st.r.mdl iIll'S anddunes.

SUMMARY OF DIVERSE INTERPRETATIONS

The extensive geological and archaeological literature con­cerned with the Israeli coast in the late Quaternary recordsmarkedly diverging interpretations on sea level evolution

It is of no surprise that numerous stretches of the Levantmargin, including the Israeli coast, an integral part of thegeologically young and still evolving eastern Mediterranean,have been affected by structural displacement as recently aslate Quaternary to modern time (NEEV et al., 1973; PIRAZ-

Journal of Coastal Research, Vol. 15, No.2, 1999

328 Stanley

Figure 2. Photographs, taken in May 1995, showing examples of rock-hewn features on the Israeli coast. (A) circular depression interpreted by some asa live ba sin for maintaining muricid snails (purple dye ), at Sh iqmona, near Haifa; (B) water entering this basin via a channel indicates that the featurefunctio ns at pre sent sea level. (C) shallow rectangular pool positioned near present sea level and cut on a broad, possibly quarried, kurkar trottoir in thevicinity of Dor . (D) broad erosional kurkar platform in the vicinity of Dor that may have been quarried. (E) near-fiat kurkar surface positioned at shallowdepth below pr esent sea level at Acre ; rectangular features above and below sea level, including some pool-like depressions, were formed largely byqua rry operation.

Journal of Coastal Research, Vol. 15, No.2, 1999

Sea Level Mea surement 329

sea

Scenario 2

rock-hewnstructure

presentsea level

(s.I.)

1) sol. rise less thanland rise

1) sol.has risen, but no land riseor

or or 2) s.1. rise greater than that2) both sol. and land have 2) no sol. rise, but land rise of land rise

moved same total amou nt, or oreither at the same time 3) sol. lowe red , and no 3) no sol.change , but landor at different times land disp laceme nt subsided

Scenario 1

land(kurkar)

along the Israeli coast were surely cut in Roman to Crusadertime, it cannot be ruled out that other trottoir s were hewnmore recently by quarrying operations and removal of rockneeded for construction in Israeli cities and towns, perhapsduring the past 300 years (Dr . Y. NIR, 1998 , personal com­munication). Review of available documentation pertaining tosuch kurkar material used for construction during the recen tpast, and perhaps more refined petrologic analyses of rock­cut features could provide a more reliable basis to date fea ­tures on kurkar platforms. In any case, evidence available atthis time does not prove, nor does it preclude, the possibilityof some pools -many of which are positioned at, or near, pres­ent sea level - having been cut du ring the past few centuries.

Emphasis should be placed on relative sea level to betterinterpret the position of rock-hewn features cut into kurkar,Tho se that are now positioned at an elevation above presentsea level can be explained in at least three ways (Figu re 3,scenario 2): by less sea-level ri se than land rise; or a fixedsea level but land ri se ; or lowering of sea level but no landmotion. In contrast, a feature cut in kurkar that now lies atan elevation below present sea level may al so be explainedin at least three ways (Figu re 3, scenario 3): by sea-level risewithout land rise; or sea-level rise exceeding land rise; or nosea-level change while land subsided.

The above schemes can be applied to rock-hewn featuressuch as those at Dol' and Caesarea, where two independen tstudies (SNEH and KLEIN, 1984; MART, 1997 ) have indicatedthat sea level in Roman time was positioned at or near pres­ent sea level, then rose by nearly 1 m at 500-900 AD, andsubsequently was lowered by ---- 1 m at 1200-1300 AD beforereturning to present level (Figu re 4A, B). These two site-spe­cific studies present similar interpretations: based in largepart on archaeological data, they tend to emphasize eustaticsea level. However, the emphasis on large-scale (---- 2 m) up­and-down sea-level oscillation and return of sea level to its

1) no s.1.change norvert ica l land motion

Figure 3. Schem es illus t rat ing three scenarios that emphasize relativesea-leve l, and involve a se ries of sea-level and/or land fluctuations thatcould have occurre d at the sa me, or at different, times on the Israeli coast.

ZOLI, 1986; MART, 1996; MART and PERECMAN, 1996 ; PIR­AZZOLI et al., 1996 ). Whether neotectonic stability or markedchange of land and/or sea-level characterize the coast proper,there is general agreement among different geological andarchaeological studies that the seafloor immediately west ofthe shoreline has been recently displaced. Offset on the coastand offshore is commonly attr ibuted to flexure and shift ofland, especially along an important coast-parallel faul t sys­te m (RABAN et al., 1990; MART and PERECMAN, 1996 ). How­ever, the magnitude of this offset can be obscured by settle­ment of large construction that has induced compaction, suchas the artificial harbor at Caesarea (GALILI and SHARVIT,1997).

The position of the sea along the coast can best be evalu­ated in terms of changing relative sea level , i.e. the resultantof worldwide (eustat ic) changes of sea level and coeval effectsof regional and/or more local land motion. With tides rangingwithin ---- 30 em in this land-bound sea, displacement of recentland and sea motion may be measured somewhat more readi­ly than in other oceans where much larger tides tend to masksubtle vertical shifts of land. Tide-gauge data collected duringthis century along the Israeli coast re veal land motion as animportant, albeit regionally variable, component: land risehas been modest at Ashdod and Yafo at the southern andcentral coast, and more extensive to the north at Haifa (EM­ERY et al., 1988 ). Results of a recent analysis of tide-gaugedata throughout the Mediterranean, where absolute sea-levelvariations are dist ingu ished from crustal movement (ZERBINIet al., 1996), are also of note. That study indicates an averagerelative rise of sea level during the past 30 years, with a rateof eustatic rise accounting for somewhat less than 1.0 mm/year, while rates of vertical land motion may reach to 1.0mm/year . These findings are compatible with a recent com­pilation in othe r world oceans that also record s a recent worldrise in sea level of ---- 1.0 mm per year (MILLIMAN and HAQ,1996 ).

On the ba sis of assigned age and function , rock-cut featuressuch as piscinas, pools, tanks and channels have been usedby some archaeologists as gauges with which to mea su rechanges of sea level and regional and local land motion. It isnoted that most rock cut installations on the Israeli coast aremost commonly attributed to Roman, Byzantine and Crusad­er periods (E. Galili , 1998 , personal communication), and thatmany still occupy their original position relative to sea level.For some , this implies long-term neotectonic stability, withonly minor shifts of land and sea level affecting the coastduring the past 20 or more centuries (GALILI and SHARVIT,1997 ).

Here, I call attention to two other possibilities that mayexplain the position at present sea level of a rock-cut featureon the Israeli margin. The first emphasizes relative-not eus­tatic-sea level in a setting where both land and sea mayhave moved up or down by the same amount, either at thesame or at different times, during the past two millenniasuch that present sea and land levels are near coincident(Figure 3, scenario 1). The second possibility, more radical,suggests that some rock-hewn features identified as Roman,Byzantine or Crusader in age may actually be much younger.Although a number of coastal kurkar ledges and trottoirs

Journal of Coastal Research, Vol. 15, No.2, 1999

330 Stanley

CONCLUSIONS

Rock-cut features should be reliably dated if they are to beused for sea level measurement. The well-studied and fre-

Figure 4. Schemes highlighting seve ra l exa mples of relat ive sea- leve lshifts documented along the Israeli coas t. A, B, diagram s depict simila rrelative sea-level oscillation patterns based on geological and archaeolog­ical data collecte d in separate st udies at 2 different sites, Caesarea andDor. C, data derived from coas ta l wells record a relative sea-level patternthat, through time, differ s markedly from A and B.

LITERATURE CITED

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

CARMEL, Z.; INMAN, D.L., and GOLIK, A., 1984. Transport of Nilesa nd along the southeastern Mediterranean coast. Coastal Engi­neering, 19, 1282-1290.

EMERY, K.O.; AUBREY, D.G. , and GOLDSMITH, V., 1988. Coastal neo­te ctonics of the Mediterranean from tide-gauge records. MarineGeology, 81, 41-52.

EMERY, K.O., and BENTOR, Y.K., 1960. The continental shelf of Is­rael. Geological Survey of Israel , Bulletin 26, 25-41.

EMERY, K.O. , and NEEV, D., 1960. Mediterranean beaches of Israel.Geological Survey of Israel, Bulletin 26, 1-23.

EUROCONSULT AND IWAco, 1994. Gaza environmental profile, Part1, Inventory of Resources. Palestinian Environmental ProtectionAuthority, Gaza , 1-60.

FLEMMING, N.C. , and WEBB,C.O., 1986. Tectonic and eustatic coast­al changes during the last 10,000 years derived from archaeolog­ical data. Zeitschrift fur Geomorphologie N.F, Sup plement 62, 1­29.

FLINDER, A., 1976. A piscina at Caesarea-a preliminary survey.Israel Journal, 26, 77- 80.

FLINDER, A., 1985. Th e piscinas at Caesarea and Lapi tho s. In: Ra­ban , A. (ed.), Harbour Archaeology: Proceedings of the 1st Interna­tional Workshop on Ancient Mediterranean Harbors, CaesareaMaritima, BAR International Series 257 , Pub. No.1, pp. 173-178.

GALILI, E ., and NIR, Y., 1993 . The submerged pre-pottery neolithicwater well of Atlit-Yam, northern Israel, and it s palaeoenviron­mental implications. Th e Holocene, 3, 265-270.

GALILI, E., and SHARVIT, J. , 1997. Ancient coastal installations andthe stability of the Israeli coast in historic times. Late QuaternaryCoastal Tectonics , Geological Society of London, 0-08.

I thank colleagues in Israel, including E. Galili , G. Gvirtz­man, Y. Mart , D. Neev , Y. Nir, A. Raban and D. Sivan, forfruitful discu ssion s and taking the time to guide me alongthe coas t. Also appre ciated are useful reviews of the originalmanuscript by N.A. Ellis and E. Reinhardt, and funding pro­vided for the study by the National Geographic Society,Smi thsonian Scholarly Studies Program, and National Mu­seum of Natural History Walcott grants.

quently cited Roman piscina at Caesarea, dated by mosaicsand its position directly on and within well-defined Herodianstructures (FLINDER, 1976, 1985; RABAN et al., 1990; MARTand PERECMAN, 1996) is, in fact , an exceptional case. Deter­mination of the precise age of most pools is difficult and mostrock-cut features in coastal kurkar have been dated only in­directly, by association with proximal archaeological sites orstructures. Such depressions are not usually characterized byage-diagnostic attributes such as mosaics and ceramics af­fixed directly to sandstone, nor have such features been spe­cifically dated as yet by associated and/or affixed diagnosticalgae and fauna (cf LIPKINand SAFRIEL, 1971) or by biogenicstructures attributed to an earlier, pre-modern time.

To distinguish sea level from land motion during the lateHolocene on the Israeli coast remains a challenge, and clearlyrequires a cautious approach. With regards to rock-hewn fea­tures , the most obvious need at this time is reliable dating todetermine if these were formed during Phoenician, Hellenis­tic , Roman, Byzantine or Crusader period, or more recently.Tempting as it may be , a rock-cut feature should not be usedto determine sea-level or land motion unless it can be accu­rately dated.

presents.1.

prese nts.1.

presents.1.

rock-hewnstructure

Present800 - 700 yr B.P(1200 - 1300 A.D.)

Minor sea level - stable land scenario(Israeli coast water wells , after Nir, 1997)

800 - 700 yr B.P(1200 - 1300 A.D.)

Eustatic sea level oscillation - stable land scenario(Caesarea, after Mart , 1997)

1500 - 1100 yr B.P.(500 - 900 A.D.)

Transgressive/regressive/transgressive - stable land scenario(Dar, after Sneh and Klein, 1984)

1500 -1100 yr B.P.(500 - 900 A.D.)

B1.0

A

1.5

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m 1.0(f)

stand of 2000 years ago warrants further attention. It is use­ful, in this respect, to consider results of another surveyba sed on water wells sited along a broad stretch of Israelicoast and that indicate a different sea-level pattern than theabove (NIR, 1997 ). In that survey, it is proposed that sea level2000 years ago was also positioned at approximately thesame level as present but, instead of lowering as at Dor andCaesarea, sea level rose at ------ 1200- 1300 AD before returningto its present stand (Figure 4C).

Identification of different sea-level stands along this coastduring the relatively short period of t ime consi dered suggeststhe probable role of variable land motion alon g the coast and,consequently, the importance of relative-not eustatic- sealevel fluctuations in this region. It is clear from the abovethat to avoid misinterpretation when determining sea-levelchange re quires, at the very least, an accurate age assign­ment to the rock-hewn feature being used for such calcula­tion.

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Journal of Coastal Research, Vol. 15, No.2, 1999

Sea Level Measurement

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Journal of Coastal Research, Vol. 15, No.2, 1999