Thursday, July 13th, 7:00 pm
Coastlines and harbors are excellent places to live. Linkages to trade networks, ample resources, and attractive views have long drawn people to build villages, towns, and cities near to the waterline. However, there are risks as well. Storms, floods, erosion, and tsunamis to name a few. In the Mediterranean, coastal cities have long been a central to the rise of civilizations, expansion of empires, and accumulation of wealth. King Herod knew this when about 2000 years ago he commissioned the construction of a massive megaharbor on the coastline of modern Israel. This masterpiece, named Caesarea after Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus (Gaius Octavius Thurinus), brought great wealth and prominence to the region, but somehow fell partially into ruins, eventually becoming completely submerged. Discoveries in the past two decades have shown that a series of tsunamis have impacted Caesarea’s coastline. More recent modern tsunamis have helped to better understand and interpret the evidence at Caesarea, while the Caesarea evidence has been central for determining hazard potential in the highly populated eastern Mediterranean region. Dr. Goodman will share the story of the discovery of these ancient deposits and what we have learned about how it impacted ancient societies.
Beverly Goodman is a marine geoarchaeologist who specializes in underwater archaeological sites, ancient harbors, tsunamis, sea-level and understanding coastal change. She is an Assistant professor in the Leon Charney School of Marine Sciences at the University of Haifa, a National Geographic Explorer, serves on the scientific advisory board and trustees of EcoOcean, and has received numerous grants and awards worldwide. She completed her PhD at McMaster university. Her work on tsunamis in the eastern Mediterranean has been central for governmental coastal planning and risk assessment.
For additional information:
Richard MacMichael
902-424-8897
richard.macmichael@novascotia.ca