Ancient coastal landscape of the marine protected area of Porto Cesareo (Lecce Italy): recent research

In the Porto Cesareo (Lecce, Italy) coastal area, submerged and semi-submerged archaeological evidence has been uncovered by recent preliminary surveys carried out in close collaboration with the local marine protected area (MPA): (a) a navis lapidaria wreck of the Roman imperial age; (b) various scattered and decontextualised fi nds; (c) a beached wreck, probably medieval; (d) some submerged built-structures that are part of the Bronze Age Scalo di Furno settlement; and (e) remains of structures (walls, buildings, burial areas). The last three pieces of evidence allow for the hypothesis of a signifi cantly different ancient coastal landscape than that of the present and a ‘dynamic’ scenario over the centuries. Keywords: coastal landscape archaeology, geo-archaeology, sea level changes, Bronze Age and Roman settlements, Porto Cesare