This paper aims to reveal the depositional environment of Istron and its sedimentological response to Holocene climatic events. The results of a multi-disciplinary geoarchaeological research undertaken in the coastal area of Istron, northeastern Crete, provided information on the depositional environment and the palaeoenvironmental evolution of the area during the Holocene. Detailed fieldwork and sampling by drilling cores in the coastal area provided samples for further analytical studies. The identification of the stratigraphy and the distinction of sedimentological units provided evidence for landscape evolution of the coastal area. Changes of sedimentation rates determined by optical dating and sedimentological analysis were also correlated with Holocene climatic phases. ?? 2011 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA.