Considering that the formation of beachrocks requires a calm coastal environment so that sand can accumulate and consequently consolidate, a new beachrock started forming after the abandonment of Nero’s canal project. At that time, human intervention was limited and Diolkos ceased to be used until Nero’s canal project in 64 A.D. After the destruction of Corinth during 146 B.C., a co-seismic event must have taken place that submerged beachrock A and part of Diolkos. Beachrock A stopped its development due to the anthropogenic intervention. ![]() Consequently, the Diolkos slipway was located on the coastline. At that time, the Corinthians started constructing Diolkos on top of beachrock A, taking advantage of its slippery surface for pulling the ships. Assuming that the mean tidal range was almost the same as now, the intertidal zone was ranging between +13 cm to −13 cm. Before Diolkos construction (6th century B.C.), beachrock A was located in the intertidal zone. Our multiproxy analysis, combining historical, archaeological, geomorphological, and mineralogical data along with geochronology, allowed to reconstruct the paleogeographic evolution of Diolkos area. It is clear that the area of Corinth is very tectonically active and the local faulting systems play an important role for the coastal geomorphological changes that affect manmade structures (e.g., ports, slipways, etc.). , a tectonic uplift of 1.2 m was the main reason for the silting of the ancient port of Lechaion. Furthermore, it was noted that repeated phases of uplift and subsidence affected the area of Lechaion even if this situation is in contrast with the general geomorphological and tectonically uplifting regime of the area. Studies have revealed that local tectonics were responsible for producing tsunamigenic events that affected the ancient port. At a distance of 7 km west of Diolkos, the ancient Lechaion port resides. ![]() The area is surrounded by a secondary faulting system that is occasionally active. In 1858, an earthquake of M = 6.5 destroyed Corinth, and, in 1928, an earthquake M = 6.3 inflicted extensive damage in Corinth and Loutraki. ![]() The area of Corinth isthmus is a tectonically active area given that, in the last 150 years, two strong seismic events have been described in historical records. That earthquake uplifted Corinth isthmus by 2 cm. During 1981, an earthquake sequence took place at the area of Loutraki as a result of the fault system of south Alkyonides. The area of Corinth isthmus has been uplifting by approximately 0.3 mm/year for the last 200 ka. After 1596 A.D., it was uplifted by 12 cm until it reached today’s condition. when the beachrock developed even closer to the present-day coastline. Consequently, a new beachrock was developed on top of the submerged Diolkos around 120 ± 14 A.D. The results showed that a beachrock slab was preserved before the construction of Diolkos below it, followed by its submergence by a co-seismic event after Diolkos abandonment during 146 B.C. We conducted detailed mapping of Diolkos beachrock using DGPS-GNSS, as well as mineralogical analysis and OSL dating of beachrock samples. ![]() In this study, we studied a beachrock from the Diolkos area (West Corinth canal, Greece) and remnants of Diolkos slipway to reconstruct the coastal evolution before Diolkos construction until today. The combination of geomorphological and archaeological sea level indicators has a significant contribution to the coastal paleogeographic reconstruction. Beachrocks are well known as significant proxies for paleoenvironmental analysis as they indicate the coastal evolution.
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