The Pass at Thermopylae, Greece
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11072900 |
|---|---|
| Authors | John C Kraft (0000-0002-7931-7478, corresponding author), George Rapp, George Robert Rapp, George J Szemler, Christos Tziavos, Edward W Kase |
| Year | 1987 |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 181-198 |
| Publication date | 1987-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Field Archaeology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0093-4690 • E-ISSN: 2042-4582 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1179/009346987792208448 |
| OpenAlex | W2047386766 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 16 |
| References cited | 13 |
Conflicts among historians over the battle at Thermopylae in 480 B.C. tend to center around supposed inconsistencies between ancient sources, particularly Herodotus, and the modern topography of the region. The area, however, is one of extensive tectonic activity, fluctuations in sea level, and sediment deposition. Any attempt to reconstruct ancient events on the basis of modern topography alone is therefore bound to be misleading. Precise paleogeographic reconstruction would require a large-scale drilling program. This study involved the drilling and analysis of seven core holes in sediments infilling the Gulf of Malia. Results clearly demonstrate a Holocene epoch marine incursion to the far west of the Malian embayment and subsequent considerable variation over time in the physiography at Thermopylae. We have reconstructed the shoreline for ca. 480 B.C. and examined variations in the morphology of the middle gate with respect to the width of the pass. Geological and geomorphic evidence suggest that the pass at Thermopylae was closed for long portions of recorded history and may therefore have had less relative importance as a route into southern Greece
Archaeology · Battle · Deposition (geology · Drilling · Geography · Holocene · Sea level · Sediment · Shore · Tectonics · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Geology · Law, logistics, and international trade · Maritime and Coastal Archaeology · Oceanography · Paleontology
Time, process and catastrophism in the study of Mediterranean alluvial history
‘Shrines of the Mighty’
Evaluating Causality of Landscape Change
Environmental Sampling in Mediterranean Archaeology
Rapp, George R.
Environmental Sampling in Mediterranean Archaeology
Long and Short-Term Coastal Changes Assessment Using Earth Observation Data and GIS Analysis
Taken from the sea, reclaimed by the sea
The Palaeo-Environmental Contexts of Three Possible Phoenician Anchorages in Portugal
A multi-proxy approach to reconstructing sedimentary environments from the Sperchios delta, Greece
Integration comes of age
Holocene paleogeographies of the Palairos coastal plain (Akarnania, northwest Greece) and their geoarchaeological implications
Paleoenvironmental history of submerged ruins on the Northern Euboean gulf coastal plain, central Greece
The geographies of ancient ephesus and the Artemision in Anatolia
Reconstruction of a Civil War landscape
Archaeology in the 21st century
Late Holocene palaeogeomorphic reconstructions in the area of the Bay of Navarino
A Commentary on Herodotus
Studies in Ancient Greek Topography, Part V
Studies in Ancient Greek Topography. Part I
New Light on Thermopylai
The Anopaia Path at Thermopylai
Procopius' De Aedificiis and the Topography of Thermopylae
Mycenaean Roads in Phocis
| Citations per year | 0.44 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1990 - 2022 (33) |
| Highly cited | No |