Jean Philippe Goiran

I am research scientist at CNRS – University of Lyon, expert in ancient harbor geoarchaeology. My research arises from the realization that due to silting up process, many Roman harbor basin sites were perfect sedimentary traps that have been in-filled with a range of deposits that are well suited for palaeo-environmental studies. My methodological approach is upon the laboratory-based analysis of sedimentary cores drilled into these ancient basins. These cores present with what amount to sedimentary archives that are studied by a pluridisciplinary team, and provide us with a lot of information about past envıronmental conditions, as well as the characteristics of the harbor basins themselves (depth, life-span, rate of infill, phases of dredging etc..). I have been involved in developing thıs approach at key ancient Mediterranean harbors in marine, lagoonal or fluvial contexts.

I have also been involved in researching into the evolution of past landscapes, and in particular, contributing to our understanding of the geography of ancient coastlines. My work has considered variations in sea-level, fluvial inputs, tectonic movements and human modifications (breakwaters…). For example, in one project we have been able to demonstrate that the rocky hill of the Piraeus near Athens was originally an island, while sedimentary archives from drilled cores confirm the historical text of Strabo. We did similar work on the ancient island of Ougarit (Ras Ibn Hani, Syria) and on the Pharos island at Alexandria in Egypt.

Last but not least, I have made contributions to the study of lead traces relating to ancient occupation and human impact at port sites. At Alexandria, we have been able to prove the existence of an ancient phase of occupation dating to the middle of the 2nd millennium BC, well prior of the foundation of Alexandria by Alexander the Great. We have also been able to gauge the rate of lead palaeo-pollution ın the ımperıal harbor of Rome (Portus).

September 2016