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July 2003-July 2010InteractiveDig Sagalassos
[image]
Using the Dachnowsky drill to take core samples from the basin of Bereket

Photos courtesy Sagalassos Archaeological Research Project. Click on images to enlarge.
by Marc Waelkens

The Geomorphological Survey: July 27-August 2, 2003

Our team was joined this week by a group of geomorphologists directed by Etienne Paulissen (KULeuven), assisted by Veronique De Laet (KULeuven) and Koen Dossche (KULeuven). One aim of our geomorphological research is contributing to the reconstruction of the environment during different occupation phases in the territory of Sagalassos. During the surveys, we evaluated the basin of Bereket (near the Imperial village of Moatra) as a possibly valuable site. The bottom of the basin, extending over about two kilometers and located at an altitude of 1400-1450 m above sea level, is well watered by springs in its northeastern part. These springs form the source area of the Aykirdak Deresi, which flows into the Bügdüz Cayi (Lake Burdur Basin). The present geomorphology of the bottom of the basin consists of different alluvial fans. The oldest parts of these fans are built up of coarse material, mostly limestone gravels, and are covered by finer sediments. This week, we made two corings (6 and 5.5 m deep) in the toe part of the main fan from the northeast. The sediments are very soft so that the Dachnowsky drill could be used. This device yields undisturbed samples with an average length of 40 cm. The sediment's succession typically shows the infilling of a marsh by detritics, different organic layers, and clayey alluvial and colluvial deposits succeeding one another. A number of horizons are very rich in charred charcoal. Without doubt, the deposits of the Bereket basin fulfill all the field requirements for a detailed palaeo-environmental reconstruction of the late Holocene.

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