Africa-Arabia connections and geoarchaeological exploration of the southern Red Sea: Preliminary results and wider significance

Geoff Bailey; Dimitris Sakellariou; Abdullah Alsharekh; Salem Al Nomani; Maud Deves; Panos Georgiou; Manolis Kallergis; Stefanos Kalogirou; Leonidas Manousakis; Prokopis Mantopoulos; Matt Meredith-Williams; Garry Momber; Ioannis Morfis; Ioannis Pampidis; Ioannis Panagiatopoulos; Panagiotis Renieris; Grigoris Rousakis; Vasilis Stasinos; Spyros Stavrakakis

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-53160-1_23

Africa-Arabia connections and geoarchaeological exploration of the southern Red Sea: Preliminary results and wider significance

Geoff Bailey, Dimitris Sakellariou, Abdullah Alsharekh, Salem Al Nomani, Maud Deves, Panos Georgiou, Manolis Kallergis, Stefanos Kalogirou, Leonidas Manousakis, Prokopis Mantopoulos, Matt Meredith-Williams, Garry Momber, Ioannis Morfis, Ioannis Pampidis, Ioannis Panagiatopoulos, Panagiotis Renieris, Grigoris Rousakis, Vasilis Stasinos, Spyros Stavrakakis

Archaeology

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review

Abstract

We report on a preliminary exploration of the submerged landscapes in the Saudi Arabian sector of the southern Red Sea aboard the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR) Research Vessel, AEGAEO, in May–June 2013. The survey sampled areas of the continental shelf down to the shelf margin at ~130m depth in the vicinity of the Farasan Islands and combined high resolution acoustic techniques with sediment coring to reconstruct features of the now-submerged landscape of potential archaeological significance, including geological structure, topography, palaeoenvironment, and sea-level change. The region is currently of wide interest and significance: to archaeologists because it is currently regarded as one of the primary pathways of dispersal for early human populations expanding out of Africa during the Pleistocene, in which the extensive but now-submerged shelf region may have played a key role; and to marine geoscientists because the Red Sea offers unusual opportunities as a ‘laboratory’ for investigating Pleistocene sea-level change. Preliminary results indicate that the submerged landscape was characterised by a complex topography with fault-bounded valleys and deep basins, some of which may have hosted, at least intermittently, fresh water during periods of lowered sea level.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Under the Sea
Subtitle of host publication	Archaeology and Palaeolandscapes of the Continental Shelf
Editors	Geoff Bailey, Jan Harff, Dimitris Sakellariou
Publisher	Springer
Pages	361-373
Number of pages	13
ISBN (Electronic)	9783319531601
ISBN (Print)	9783319531588
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53160-1_23
Publication status	Published - 1 Jun 2017

Publication series

Name	Coastal Research Library
Volume	20

Keywords

Farasan Islands
Continental Shelf
Evaporites
Last Glacial Maximum
Sea level rise
Acoustic Survey
Homo sapiens

Access to Document

10.1007/978-3-319-53160-1_23

DISPERSE: DISPERSE: Dynamic Landscapes, Coastal Environments and Human Dispersals
Bailey, G. (Principal investigator), King, G. (Co-investigator), Cooper Inglis, R. H. (Researcher), Devès, M. (Researcher), Hausmann, N. B. M. J. (Researcher), Meredith-Williams, M. G. (Researcher), Momber, G. L. (Researcher) & Winder, I. C. (Researcher)
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
1/04/11 → 31/10/16
Project: Research project (funded) › Research

Cite this

Bailey, G., Sakellariou, D., Alsharekh, A., Al Nomani, S., Deves, M., Georgiou, P., Kallergis, M., Kalogirou, S., Manousakis, L., Mantopoulos, P., Meredith-Williams, M., Momber, G., Morfis, I., Pampidis, I., Panagiatopoulos, I., Renieris, P., Rousakis, G., Stasinos, V., & Stavrakakis, S. (2017). Africa-Arabia connections and geoarchaeological exploration of the southern Red Sea: Preliminary results and wider significance. In G. Bailey, J. Harff, & D. Sakellariou (Eds.), Under the Sea: Archaeology and Palaeolandscapes of the Continental Shelf (pp. 361-373). (Coastal Research Library; Vol. 20). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53160-1_23

Bailey, Geoff ; Sakellariou, Dimitris ; Alsharekh, Abdullah et al. / Africa-Arabia connections and geoarchaeological exploration of the southern Red Sea : Preliminary results and wider significance. Under the Sea: Archaeology and Palaeolandscapes of the Continental Shelf. editor / Geoff Bailey ; Jan Harff ; Dimitris Sakellariou. Springer, 2017. pp. 361-373 (Coastal Research Library).

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title = "Africa-Arabia connections and geoarchaeological exploration of the southern Red Sea: Preliminary results and wider significance",

abstract = "We report on a preliminary exploration of the submerged landscapes in the Saudi Arabian sector of the southern Red Sea aboard the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR) Research Vessel, AEGAEO, in May–June 2013. The survey sampled areas of the continental shelf down to the shelf margin at ~130m depth in the vicinity of the Farasan Islands and combined high resolution acoustic techniques with sediment coring to reconstruct features of the now-submerged landscape of potential archaeological significance, including geological structure, topography, palaeoenvironment, and sea-level change. The region is currently of wide interest and significance: to archaeologists because it is currently regarded as one of the primary pathways of dispersal for early human populations expanding out of Africa during the Pleistocene, in which the extensive but now-submerged shelf region may have played a key role; and to marine geoscientists because the Red Sea offers unusual opportunities as a {\textquoteleft}laboratory{\textquoteright} for investigating Pleistocene sea-level change. Preliminary results indicate that the submerged landscape was characterised by a complex topography with fault-bounded valleys and deep basins, some of which may have hosted, at least intermittently, fresh water during periods of lowered sea level. ",

keywords = "Farasan Islands, Continental Shelf, Evaporites, Last Glacial Maximum, Sea level rise, Acoustic Survey, Homo sapiens",

author = "Geoff Bailey and Dimitris Sakellariou and Abdullah Alsharekh and {Al Nomani}, Salem and Maud Deves and Panos Georgiou and Manolis Kallergis and Stefanos Kalogirou and Leonidas Manousakis and Prokopis Mantopoulos and Matt Meredith-Williams and Garry Momber and Ioannis Morfis and Ioannis Pampidis and Ioannis Panagiatopoulos and Panagiotis Renieris and Grigoris Rousakis and Vasilis Stasinos and Spyros Stavrakakis",

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doi = "10.1007/978-3-319-53160-1_23",

language = "English",

isbn = "9783319531588",

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Bailey, G, Sakellariou, D, Alsharekh, A, Al Nomani, S, Deves, M, Georgiou, P, Kallergis, M, Kalogirou, S, Manousakis, L, Mantopoulos, P, Meredith-Williams, M, Momber, G, Morfis, I, Pampidis, I, Panagiatopoulos, I, Renieris, P, Rousakis, G, Stasinos, V & Stavrakakis, S 2017, Africa-Arabia connections and geoarchaeological exploration of the southern Red Sea: Preliminary results and wider significance. in G Bailey, J Harff & D Sakellariou (eds), Under the Sea: Archaeology and Palaeolandscapes of the Continental Shelf. Coastal Research Library, vol. 20, Springer, pp. 361-373. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53160-1_23

Africa-Arabia connections and geoarchaeological exploration of the southern Red Sea: Preliminary results and wider significance. / Bailey, Geoff; Sakellariou, Dimitris; Alsharekh, Abdullah et al.
Under the Sea: Archaeology and Palaeolandscapes of the Continental Shelf. ed. / Geoff Bailey; Jan Harff; Dimitris Sakellariou. Springer, 2017. p. 361-373 (Coastal Research Library; Vol. 20).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review

TY - CHAP

T1 - Africa-Arabia connections and geoarchaeological exploration of the southern Red Sea

T2 - Preliminary results and wider significance

AU - Bailey, Geoff

AU - Sakellariou, Dimitris

AU - Alsharekh, Abdullah

AU - Al Nomani, Salem

AU - Deves, Maud

AU - Georgiou, Panos

AU - Kallergis, Manolis

AU - Kalogirou, Stefanos

AU - Manousakis, Leonidas

AU - Mantopoulos, Prokopis

AU - Meredith-Williams, Matt

AU - Momber, Garry

AU - Morfis, Ioannis

AU - Pampidis, Ioannis

AU - Panagiatopoulos, Ioannis

AU - Renieris, Panagiotis

AU - Rousakis, Grigoris

AU - Stasinos, Vasilis

AU - Stavrakakis, Spyros

PY - 2017/6/1

Y1 - 2017/6/1

N2 - We report on a preliminary exploration of the submerged landscapes in the Saudi Arabian sector of the southern Red Sea aboard the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR) Research Vessel, AEGAEO, in May–June 2013. The survey sampled areas of the continental shelf down to the shelf margin at ~130m depth in the vicinity of the Farasan Islands and combined high resolution acoustic techniques with sediment coring to reconstruct features of the now-submerged landscape of potential archaeological significance, including geological structure, topography, palaeoenvironment, and sea-level change. The region is currently of wide interest and significance: to archaeologists because it is currently regarded as one of the primary pathways of dispersal for early human populations expanding out of Africa during the Pleistocene, in which the extensive but now-submerged shelf region may have played a key role; and to marine geoscientists because the Red Sea offers unusual opportunities as a ‘laboratory’ for investigating Pleistocene sea-level change. Preliminary results indicate that the submerged landscape was characterised by a complex topography with fault-bounded valleys and deep basins, some of which may have hosted, at least intermittently, fresh water during periods of lowered sea level.

AB - We report on a preliminary exploration of the submerged landscapes in the Saudi Arabian sector of the southern Red Sea aboard the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR) Research Vessel, AEGAEO, in May–June 2013. The survey sampled areas of the continental shelf down to the shelf margin at ~130m depth in the vicinity of the Farasan Islands and combined high resolution acoustic techniques with sediment coring to reconstruct features of the now-submerged landscape of potential archaeological significance, including geological structure, topography, palaeoenvironment, and sea-level change. The region is currently of wide interest and significance: to archaeologists because it is currently regarded as one of the primary pathways of dispersal for early human populations expanding out of Africa during the Pleistocene, in which the extensive but now-submerged shelf region may have played a key role; and to marine geoscientists because the Red Sea offers unusual opportunities as a ‘laboratory’ for investigating Pleistocene sea-level change. Preliminary results indicate that the submerged landscape was characterised by a complex topography with fault-bounded valleys and deep basins, some of which may have hosted, at least intermittently, fresh water during periods of lowered sea level.

KW - Farasan Islands

KW - Continental Shelf

KW - Evaporites

KW - Last Glacial Maximum

KW - Sea level rise

KW - Acoustic Survey

KW - Homo sapiens

U2 - 10.1007/978-3-319-53160-1_23

DO - 10.1007/978-3-319-53160-1_23

M3 - Chapter (peer-reviewed)

SN - 9783319531588

T3 - Coastal Research Library

SP - 361

EP - 373

BT - Under the Sea

A2 - Bailey, Geoff

A2 - Harff, Jan

A2 - Sakellariou, Dimitris

PB - Springer

ER -

Bailey G, Sakellariou D, Alsharekh A, Al Nomani S, Deves M, Georgiou P et al. Africa-Arabia connections and geoarchaeological exploration of the southern Red Sea: Preliminary results and wider significance. In Bailey G, Harff J, Sakellariou D, editors, Under the Sea: Archaeology and Palaeolandscapes of the Continental Shelf. Springer. 2017. p. 361-373. (Coastal Research Library). doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-53160-1_23

Africa-Arabia connections and geoarchaeological exploration of the southern Red Sea: Preliminary results and wider significance

Abstract

Publication series

Keywords

Access to Document

Projects

DISPERSE: DISPERSE: Dynamic Landscapes, Coastal Environments and Human Dispersals

Cite this