In this paper the sea level rise in the Mediterranean Sea in the period ranging from 600 B.C. to 100 A.D. is studied by using archeological ruins chosen in order to give assurance with respect to the date and the height. Among the archeological structures still and in contact with the sea. Roman fishponds, harbor wharves, and docks are the most important. A plot of measured depth versus date shows that from 600 B.C. to 100 A.D. the Mediterranean Sea rose from -1.7 to -0.4 m with respect to mean sea level in 1884. Two least squares regression lines with 95% confidence region were drawn. The first, which includes all 22 data sets, shows a rise of the mean sea level of 1.7 mm/yr in the time span from 600 B.C. to 100 A.D. the other one, containing only 20 data sets, shows a rise of the mean sea level of 1.4 mm/yr in the same time period. This rise of the sea may have ended around the year 350 A.D. A rise of 1.4 mm/yr agrees with the rise of the Mediterranean Sea as recorded in the last century by tide gage. |