A study examining geological records from the northern Adriatic region has revealed significant transformations in the coastline over the past 10,000 years. Researchers at the University of Southampton, led by Samuele Ongaro, analyzed seismic data and sedimentary core samples collected from coastal basins in northern Italy, Slovenia, and northern Croatia to reconstruct historical sea level changes and landscape configurations.
The findings, published in Quaternary Science Reviews, indicate that the Venice lagoon as it exists today was previously terrestrial terrain that extended more than 30 miles from the contemporary shoreline. Similarly, the Trieste region featured elevated terrain with associated swamps and lagoons rather than its current configuration.
The research identified three distinct phases of sea level rise beginning just over 10,000 years ago, with the water sometimes rising as much as 25 millimeters annually. These shifts in sea levels forced Mesolithic hunter-gatherer populations to continuously adapt their subsistence patterns, relocating hunting and fishing grounds as the environment evolved around them.
Following these dramatic transitions, the region experienced relative stability in sea levels for approximately the last 6,000 years. This period of relative constancy permitted the establishment of permanent human settlements and the development of agricultural activities in what became the recognizable landscape of the northern Adriatic region.
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