Remains of diatoms, molluscs, ostracods, foraminifera and pollen exines preserved in the sediments of Lago d'Averno, a volcanic lake in the Phlegrean Fields west of Naples, allowed us to reconstruct the changes in the ecological conditions of the lake and of the vegetation around it for the period from 800 BC to 800 AD.
Lago d'Averno was at first a freshwater lake, temporarily influenced by volcanic springs. Salinity increased slowly during Greek times as a result of subsidence of the surrounding land. Saline conditions developed only after the lake was connected with the sea by a canal, when Portus Julius was built in 37 BC. The first post-Roman period of uplift ended with a short freshwater phase during the 7th century after Christ. Deciduous oakwoods around the lake was transformed into a forest of evergreen oaks in Greek times and thrived there - apparently almost uninfluenced by man - until it was felled, when the Avernus was incorporated into the new Roman harbour in 37 BC, to construct a shipyard and other military buildings there. Land-use was never more intense than during Roman times and weakest in Greek and Early Roman times, when the Avernus was considered a holy place, the entrance to the underworld.
Grüger, Eberhard; Thulin, Barbara; Müller, Jens; SchneiderJ, Jürgen; Alefs, Joachim; Welters-Schultes, Francisco (2002): Environmental changes in and around Lake Avernus in Greek and Roman times. A study of the plant and animal remains preserved in the lake's sediments. In: Jashemki, Wilhelmina Feemster & Meyer, Frederick G. (eds.): The Natural History of Pompeii, Cambridge University Press, 528 pp, ISBN-13: 978-0-521-80054-9, 240-273
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Fonte
Supplement to: Grüger, Eberhard; Thulin, Barbara (1998): First results of biostratigraphical investigations of Lago d'Averno near Naples relating to the period 800 BC-800 AD. Quaternary International, 47-48, 35-40, doi:10.1016/S1040-6182(97)00068-2