Geodynamic and hydro-geological constraints regarding the extension of the prospective archaeo-cultural area within the northern Romanian coastal zone

The combined effects of the regional subsidence of the coast and delta area, with amplitudes of −2 to −4 mm/y and of the secular mean sea level rise (+0.5/1.0 mm/y) continuously change the “land-mean sea level” relative relationship, placing the prospective archaeo-cultural layer corresponding to the Late Prehistory - Antiquity period at a burial depth which now exceeds 4-5 m. This situation partly explains the limited success of the archaeological research carried out until now within the Danube Delta plain area and recommends a systematic use of the geophysical investigation methods in future. The integrated interpretation of the coastal zone bathymetry and sedimentology mappings and of the shoreline geomorphological evolution in time highlights the sedimentary processes that presently shape the littoral study zone allowing to divide it in sectors where either sediments accumulation or erosion processes prevail. The study draws attention to the ÎmpuÅ£ita - Câşla Vădanei and Coşna - Vadu littoral sectors where the intense marine erosion of the shoreline and the adjacent seabed also imminently endangers their prospective archaeo-cultural load.