Atlit-Yam is a 9,000 year old fishing village located off the Carmel coast of what is today northern Israel, and beneath some 26-40 feet of Mediterranean sea water.
Diving on the submerged village of Atlit-Yam. Photo by Hanay.
As a result, the Pre-Pottery Neolithic site has excellent preservation of organic materials and about 15 sets of human remains; at the same time posing difficulties as to excavations, as you might imagine.
- Read more about Atlit-Yam
- Guide to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic
Comments
Atlit-Yam is under 26-40 feet of water. Does this mean 9000 years ago the sea level was 40 feet lower than today? Or has the sea floor sunk that much over the last 9000 years ago?
The water has risen. The Mediterranean Sea levels were investigated recently by JA Dorale:
http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100211/full/news.2010.59.html
The highest it has ever been was about a meter (3.2 ft) above its current level: the lowest was nearly 130 meters (430 ft) below what it is today. And over the last 12,000 years (since the Last Glacial Maximum, or LGM), the sea level in the Mediterranean basin has slowly risen from a low of ~50 meters (165 ft) below current levels. Part of it is how much water was tied up in glacial ice, part of it is what they isostatic rebound. Here are some references:
Dorale JA, Onac BP, Fornós JJ, Ginés J, Ginés A, Tuccimei P, and Peate DW. 2010. Sea-Level Highstand 81,000 Years Ago in Mallorca. Science 327(5967):860-863.
Lambeck K, Antonioli F, Purcell A, and Silenzi S. 2004. Sea-level change along the Italian coast for the past 10,000 yr. Quaternary Science Reviews 23(14–15):1567-1598.
Lambeck K, and Purcell A. 2005. Sea-level change in the Mediterranean Sea since the LGM: model predictions for tectonically stable areas. Quaternary Science Reviews 24(18–19):1969-1988.