Abstract:
The Athenian Basin has been inhabited since the
Neolithic,1 but the most massive-scale human impact
on the landscape has been recorded since 2.500 yBP,
following the construction of the Long Walls and
the Piraeus Harbors (Zea, Mounichia, Kantharos).
This certainly contributed to Athens’ spectacular
efflorescence in the 5th c. BC, but also created major
morphological variations. These constructions have
been described by ancient writers and valid observers
such as Plato,2 Strabo, Pausanias3 and Plutarch.4 Strabo
suggested that Piraeus might have been an island, based
on its morphological smoothness and oral tradition.
The present study includes the larger part of the
Athens basin. The study area begins from the coastal
areas of Palaio and Neo Phaliro, goes up North to the
Tourkovounia (East) and ends at Peristeri (West) (Fig.
1). This vast area corresponds to the Basin where the
drainage networks of Kephissos and Ilissos, the two
main rivers of Athens, have deposited their sediments.
The objective of this research is to manage and to
project the lithostratigraphic units identified in a GIS
database with the contribution of Rockworks 15 and
Arc Map v10.1 platforms. This task can be concluded
by using borehole data, geo-archaeological data and finally extrapolate the landscape processes and the
palaeo-geographic evolution of the study area during
the Holocene (ca. 11.500 yBP until today), which is of
most interest to archaeologists.
