Quaternary, Volume 9, Issue 3 (June 2026) – 13 articles

The port of Portus was located about 30 km southwest of Rome and was the most important in the Western Mediterranean during the Roman Imperial period (27 BCE–476 CE). This paper analyses the palaeoenvironmental evolution of the channel linking the outer harbour, or Claudius Basin, with the inner harbour, or Trajan’s Hexagon. During the 1st century CE, this area was situated in an open marine environment, which gradually became more confined due to sedimentation from the River Tiber and the silting caused by the massive accumulation of fibres and leaves from the seagrass Posidonia oceanica. In the ~2nd–5th centuries CE, the area transitioned to a brackish environment and eventually became silted up, with a marked decline in port activity from the 5th century CE onward. Full article

Ice-dammed lakes were common along the southern margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet during deglaciation. In the Schoharie Valley of the northern Catskill Mountains, New York, a 171 km² lake known as glacial Lake Grand Gorge formed in an interlobate area. Previous researchers suggested that deltas developed into this glacial lake from meltwater supplied by the adjacent Hudson Lobe during deglaciation. This study investigates stratigraphy and sedimentology of Pleistocene deltas and lake deposits to determine the source of meltwater and sediment. Detailed examination of stratigraphy from quarries, stream exposures, and new exploration borings was combined with radiocarbon and OSL geochronology to establish event stratigraphy. Sedimentologic and geomorphic data from deltas in the Manor Kill and Platter Kill Valleys demonstrates that braided outwash was supplied directly from the Westerlo Sublobe that crossed the northeastern escarpment of the Catskill Mountains. New geochronologic data indicates that the lake was established by 28 ka and likely persisted to at least 22 ka. Insects and twigs recovered from lake sediments complement the OSL data and indicate: (1) that the lake was present significantly earlier than previous deglacial models predict, and (2) that it existed in an ice-free area of the northern Catskill Mountains during the last glacial maximum of the MIS 2 glaciation. Full article

Geoheritage assessment supports inventory design, geoconservation, geoeducation, public interpretation, and geotourism, yet many methods still merge intrinsic site significance with present-day conditions of access, interpretation, and management. This paper introduces the Geoheritage Evaluation and Classification Alphanumeric System (GECAS), a modular, non-compensatory framework for classifying geosites and geomorphosites through autonomous profiles rather than through a single total score. The revised framework distinguishes a minimum deployable core from standard and full applications, separates descriptive metadata from evaluative axes, and produces purpose-specific outputs for scientific significance, geoeducational suitability, public-facing visit readiness, geotourism use potential, and conservation priority. GECAS also formalises evidence quality, expert- and user-derived channels, degradation-risk gates, and the Geo-Pass communication profile. A structured comparison with established assessment approaches, a step-by-step workflow, time–effort guidance, and a secondary-data demonstrator is provided. The framework is proposed as a scalable methodological grammar that improves transparency, avoids hidden compensation among non-equivalent criteria, and supports future calibration through field trials, inter-rater testing, and comparative applications. Full article

The occurrence of Vulpes corsac in the Late Pleistocene of Europe is primarily supported by a limited number of uncertain records, many of which require revision. More reliable evidence derives from localities in Bohemia and Ukraine. The species’ history is particularly well documented in Ukraine, which also preserves the only Holocene occurrences of V. corsac in Europe, and where it persists in the eastern regions to the present day. To this record we now add the first locality from Poland, identified in Rogóżka Cave (Sudety, Silesia). It appears that Vulpes corsac was never abundant in Late Pleistocene Europe. Confirming its presence requires careful taxonomic analysis, as its rare remains must be distinguished from those of Vulpes vulpes and Vulpes lagopus, which are far more common in Late Pleistocene and Holocene assemblages. Full article

Recent and ongoing fieldwork at Bacon Hole, located on the Gower Peninsula, South Wales, is being conducted by an international team of researchers. This work includes pigment analysis and a chronometric dating programme focused on a vertical painted surface within a side chamber. The painted surface is considered a product of human agency, specifically applied haematite. Originally identified in 1912 by Professor William Sollas and Henri Breuil as Palaeolithic cave art, the painted panel was dismissed by 1928. In September 2022, the painted surface, along with other potential paintings, was rediscovered. In April 2023, the First Art team sampled the pigments for organic residues, while a team from the University of Southampton collected samples from several calcite flows overlying the painted surface for uranium–thorium dating. As a scientific control for the initial dating programme, the First Art team, in collaboration with scientists from Nanjing Normal University, conducted a second round of sample collecting and analysis in May 2024. This paper presents a discussion of the history and archaeological significance of the site, along with the results of the pigment and dating analysis carried out in April 2023 and May 2024. Full article

Archaeomalacological analyses have been carried out as part of the interdisciplinary project of Colombare di Negrar, a prehistoric site in the Lessini Mountains (northern Italy). The palaeoenvironmental and economic reconstruction from the Late to Final Neolithic was based on 1047 mollusc remains taken from two contiguous Trenches 4 and 15. The landscape reconstruction shows natural clearings in the woods. The faunal associations indicate that the environment from the Late to Final Neolithic became wetter. Finally, stony-soil species remained constant over time. Full article

On 6 June 1944, more than 156,000 Allied troops landed along the heavily fortified beaches of Normandy, France, during Operation Overlord, the largest amphibious assault in modern history. Intensive naval bombardment, ground combat, and subsequent occupation resulted in the introduction and emplacement of substantial quantities of anthropogenic metal into the coastal environment. Previous work has documented the presence of shrapnel and other metallic detritus within Normandy beach sands, with estimates suggesting ~1% of sediment may be derived from wartime activity; however, these observations were based on limited sampling. This study presents the first systematic, coast-wide investigation of sediment across all five Allied landing beaches (Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword). A total of 460 surface and subsurface samples were collected in June 2024 and April 2025 and analyzed for metallic grain abundance, grain size, morphology and composition. Metallic grains comprise an average of 0.4 wt.% of the total sediment across the D-Day beaches. These grains are dominantly iron-rich based on geochemical characterization of a representative subset of samples (n = 33), with lower concentrations of aluminum, titanium and trace amounts of other metallic elements. These grains display a range of morphologies indicative of anthropogenic origin, including angular fragments and metallic spherules and rounded grains consistent with primary fragmentation and subsequent reworking. The combined evidence of morphology, magnetic properties, spatial distribution, and regional sediment compartmentalization supports a predominantly anthropogenic origin. Potential contributions from natural magnetite and industrial sources are considered but are unlikely to account for the observed patterns across all sites. Metallic grains are non-uniformly distributed and partitioned along the beach profile, with consistent enrichment within the swash zone relative to supratidal environments. Subsurface profiles show metallic grain persistence to depths exceeding 1 m, with peak concentrations consistently observed at 5–15 cm and 45–75 cm. These results demonstrate that the sedimentary record of Operation Overlord remains preserved within the modern Normandy coastline eighty years after emplacement. This anthropogenic material provides a temporally constrained stratigraphic tracer within a dynamic macrotidal system, offering insight into sediment redistribution, beach aggradation rates, and coastal processes operating on decadal timescales. Full article

Syphilis, caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum, has a complex evolutionary history, most likely being transferred from the Americas to Europe after the 15th century and subsequently spreading widely through sexual transmission. This work is one of the few studies on the skeletal evidence of probable treponematosis in archaeological populations discovered on the Romanian territory, providing data to better understand the disease history. Pathological lesions identified in three human skeletons of the 15th–19th centuries are described, and a diagnosis of treponematosis is performed. The three analyzed skeletons were discovered during the archaeological excavations in the necropolis of the Roman-Catholic Cathedral in Iasi City (Romania). The investigated skeletons belonged to individuals aged 30–40 years old (two females and one male). Somatoscopic, radiographic, tomographic, and microscopic examinations were used for the differential diagnosis. The results of multiple investigation methods support the diagnosis of probable treponematosis in all three skeletons, showing different stages of caries sicca in skull bones, cortical thickening, and new periosteal bone formation in postcranial bones. Full article

Small Mediterranean coastal lagoons are sensitive sedimentary environments where basin morphology, hydrodynamic processes, and inherited coastal structures interact to control sediment dispersal. This study investigates modern sedimentary patterns in Lake Porto Vecchio, a shallow coastal brackish pond within the Oliveri–Tindari lagoon system (NE Sicily, Italy), by integrating grain-size statistical and petrographic analyses, and morpho-bathymetric data. A total of 115 surface sediment samples were collected from the coastal pond’s shallow bottom, shoreline, adjacent beach, and shallow marine sector. Grain-size distributions were analyzed using mechanical sieving and laser diffraction, and textural parameters were calculated following Folk and Ward’s formula. Results reveal a well-defined spatial organization of siliciclastic sediments characterized by a grain-size gradient from gravelly coarse-grained sands along the shallow marginal platform to fine-grained sands and silts toward the deeper central basin. This pattern reflects a progressive decrease in hydrodynamic energy from the lagoon margins toward the basin depocenter. A partially lithified beachrock belt forms a shallow platform controlling sedimentation, trapping coarse sediments along the margins while promoting the accumulation of finer fractions in the inner basin. Grain-size discrimination diagrams further distinguish lagoonal sediments from adjacent marine deposits, highlighting the effectiveness of classical statistical approaches in reconstructing modern sedimentary processes. These results support a conceptual model in which inherited beachrock platforms act as key morphological control on sediment architecture in microtidal coastal lakes. Lake Porto Vecchio, therefore, represents a useful modern analog for interpreting similar lagoonal deposits preserved in the Quaternary sedimentary record. Full article

In this paper, we provide new insight into the Quaternary tectonics of the Floridia Graben (southeastern Sicily) and develop 3D geologic and ground-flow models of its subsurface. The Floridia Graben is a structural depression bounded by NW–SE trending normal faults and represents the main water reservoir that supplies the city of Siracusa (southeastern Sicily) and its countryside. The knowledge of the subsurface geology and neo-tectonic evolution of the Floridia Graben, as well as the spatial distribution of groundwater volumes is crucial for the management and protection of water resources. Within the government project of the new Italian geological cartography (ISPRA-CARG, Sheet N. 646 Siracusa), field and well data (both publicly available and newly acquired) have been collected and reinterpreted. NW–SE and NE–SW buried tectonic–structural features, inferred in the sub-surface of the graben, are consistent with the orientations of Quaternary faults diffusely observed inside and outside the investigated area. The Quaternary tectonic activity of bounding and buried faults has had a strong influence on the control of the morpho-structural pattern and, consequently, the groundwater flow of the Floridia Graben. The study allowed for the redefinition of the timing of these structures as well as their tectonic–structural control on the graben’s architecture and related water flow. The study represents a valuable tool for the better prediction of the spatial distribution of geologic and hydrogeologic volumes, thus enhancing the efficiency in the management and protection of natural resources. Full article

Grotta-Riparo di Uluzzo C (Uluzzo Bay, Apulia, southern Italy) preserves a long and complex stratigraphic sequence spanning from the Middle Palaeolithic to the Bronze Age, offering a valuable context for investigating depositional dynamics and human–environment interactions during the Late Pleistocene. Although recent multidisciplinary research has substantially advanced knowledge of the Uluzzian occupations, the Mousterian faunal record of the site has remained largely unexplored from zooarchaeological and taphonomic perspectives. This study examines the faunal assemblages from the Mousterian layers (E, F, and G), integrating material from historical excavations with those recovered during recent fieldwork. Zooarchaeological, taphonomic, and Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) analyses are combined to reconstruct local environmental conditions, evaluate the relative contribution of human and non-human agents to bone accumulation, and assess patterns of site use and deposit formation. The faunal spectrum indicates an ecologically heterogeneous landscape, consistent with a Mediterranean refugial setting during the Late Pleistocene. Taphonomic evidence points to complex and cumulative formation processes resulting from repeated, short-term human occupations interspersed with carnivore activity and natural depositional processes. The Mousterian deposits are therefore best interpreted as brief palimpsests rather than the result of continuous or intensive occupation. Placed within a regional framework, the Uluzzo C assemblages contribute to broader discussions on site formation processes and environmental variability in southern Italy and provide an important comparative baseline for the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic period. Full article

Coastal regions played a key role in the emergence of Early Neolithic cultures. Fluctuating sea levels shaped prehistoric human migration, settlement patterns, and adaptation strategies. The lower reaches of the Min River in Fujian were a major centre of activity. During the Middle to Late Neolithic, marine communities such as the Keqiutou (6500–5500 cal. a BP) and Tanshishan (5500–4300 cal. a BP) cultures flourished. However, the scarcity of earlier remains has limited understanding of Early Neolithic life before 8000 cal. a BP. We dated stratigraphic layers at the newly excavated Niutoushan site using radiocarbon dating and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). OSL results indicate the site’s Neolithic culture layer between 9.3 ± 0.7 ka and 8.1 ± 0.5 ka, with radiocarbon dates clustering around 8300–7000 cal. a BP. Based on the younger bounds of the dating results and kernel density estimation, the Neolithic remains at the site are dated to approximately 8000–7000 cal. a BP, identifying Niutoushan as one of the earliest Neolithic sites in the region. Combined with sea-level reconstructions, the findings suggest that the rapid Early Holocene sea-level rise drove human migration along China’s eastern coast before 8000 cal. a BP. The Niutoushan culture was influenced by Neolithic cultures from northern coastal regions and potentially by those located to its south across the exposed Taiwan Strait from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Early Holocene. This points to complex interactions among Early Neolithic cultures in both northern and southern coastal China, warranting further investigation for validation. Full article

This study presents the first bioarcheological analysis of the Mnogovalikovaia culture (Middle Bronze Age) from the North Pontic region, evaluating six human skeletons (six adult males) discovered in tumuli at Novosiolovca, Burlăceni, and Ordășei (Republic of Moldova). Dental analysis reveals moderate-to-advanced occlusal wear, chipping on posterior teeth, and anterior teeth modifications indicating both dietary practices and extramasticatory activities. The characteristics of the dental morphology, including non-metric dental traits (i.e., degree of cusp expression, presence of supernumerary cusps, bilateral asymmetry and the occlusal surface shape of maxillary and mandibular second molars (M2) highlight population-specific features influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Traces of ochre on skeletons suggest specific funerary practices. The study fills a significant gap in the understanding of Mnogovalikovaia communities, providing important data on their biological and cultural characteristics, lifestyle, and funerary practices. These findings also represent a basis for future research on this population, requiring larger samples and biomolecular analysis. Full article