Reconstructing late quaternary relict landforms on the continental shelf: New data from multibeam and seismic surveys in the Balzi Rossi archaeological site (NW Mediterranean Sea)

Continental shelves are among the most valuable archives for understanding Earth's climatic and environmental history. In this work, we investigated a large portion of the Liguro-Provençal shelf (NW Mediterranean Sea) to test the hypothesis that most of the currently detectable submerged morphologies are preserved from past sealevel lowstands that occurred before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). To achieve this purpose, newly collected high-resolution multibeam bathymetry and single channel seismic profiles were integrated, enabling a detailed reconstruction of the seabed morphologies in the study area. The systematic mapping, description, and genetic interpretation of geomorphological features confirm that landforms shaped during periods of subaerial exposure before the Last Glacial Maximum are still preserved, influencing the post-LGM sedimentary record.These relict landforms provide evidence of shoreline positions attained during phases of lower relative sea level. Our results have also major importance from a geoarchaeological perspective. The data provide new insights into the palaeolandscape reconstruction of this area which hosts the major prehistoric coastal site of the NW Mediterranean (Balzi Rossi). In fact, the identified submerged features represent potential occupation palaeoenvironments and resource nodes that remained emergent for much of MIS 4–2. Comparable landscapes documented elsewhere in the world show that such geomorphic settings often have a remarkable capacity to preserve cultural material long after inundation. The geomorphological framework outlined in this study therefore pinpoints discrete areas of the seabed that should be prioritised in future investigations aimed at recovering Palaeolithic stratigraphies, thereby complementing the exceptional onshore archaeological sequence of Balzi Rossi.