The Holocene evolution of the Kalamas delta (northwestern Greece) derived from geophysical and sedimentological survey

This article aims to present the Holocene dynamics that are responsible for the creation and the evolution of the delta of the Kalamas River (65 km 2, the smallest delta of Epirus, northwestern Greece). Archaeological remains prove a continuous occupation since the Upper Paleolithic times (site of Pyrgos Raghiou). In connection with the two archaeological sites of Mastilitsa (Bronze Age) and Pirgos Raghiou (continuous occupation since the Upper Paleolithic) and the published archaeological data, this paper presents the first results concerning the Holocene evolution of the delta. The methodology adopted crosses both geophysical data (seven profiles of electrical resistivity along three transects) and sedimentological studies, obtained through fourteen cores. The results are presented in two complementary parts: the first one emphasises the existence of several Holocene buried palaeochannels near the archaeological sites. The second presents the first description of the successive environments since 7440 BP. These results, associated with a series of three 14C datings, can open up interesting prospects for research on the environmental changes that occurred at the beginning of the Holocene.