Abstract In this paper we review the main, long- and short-term geological and geotectonic processes that have controlled the development of Pleistocene landscapes in the Aegean region above and below the fluctuating sea level. We discuss the potential for further research on reconstruction of submerged landscapes of the continental shelf and beyond with the aim of addressing questions concerning Palaeolithic settlement. The geological, tectonic, morphological and hydrogeological background provides information for the assessment of the natural resources available to hominins. Along with the palaeogeographical evolution of the shallow coastal and shelf areas, they are examined in parallel with the terrestrial archaeological record in order to open windows to future work in a region that has remained marginal to human origins research. On the basis of the multi-variable tectonic evolution and geomorphological configuration of the coastal and shelf areas, we propose to divide the Aegean region into nine geographical units, each with its own geotectonic and morphological history and traits. These units can be further grouped to provide larger neighbouring and culturally meaningful regions, suitable for archaeological analysis, or subdivided to provide smaller target areas in which to work.

In the past two centuries, several researchers, based on different interpretations of the Homeric poems, have proposed that the ancient homeland of Odysseus may not have been the present Ithaca Island in the Ionian Sea but somewhere else. Among them, there is the opinion that the Homeric Ithaca was the western part of Kefalonia Island, the Paliki peninsula, separated at that time from the main island by a channel. The aim of this study is to verify, based on geological and geomorphological field observations, the existence of the proposed “channel” during the Homeric era, and its filling by a series of landslides originating from the eastern mountains, and to determine the paleogeographic evolution of the study area in the late Holocene. Detailed geological and geomorphological mapping was performed focusing on different landforms of fluvial origin, slope changes, planation and depositional surfaces, karst features, mass wasting features, and faults. Topographic diagrams and maps, aerial photographs, and satellite images were used, accompanied by extensive fieldwork. For the geological mapping, field observations were combined with previous works. A spatial database derived from the aforementioned material and work was constructed using geographic information system (GIS) techniques. A digital terrain model (DTM) of the study region was also created. All the geological and geomorphological evidence refutes the hypothesis for the existence of a channel in NW Kefalonia. Moreover, there is a serious discordance in the time period needed for the formation and evolution of the landscape, considering the rock type and the Mediterranean climate of the area.

During the archaeological and geoarchaeological surveys on the island of Zakynthos, Greece, it has been noted that the distribution and preservation of archaeological remains of Zakynthos present spatially different characteristics. In general, archaeological pottery finds and architectural remains in the eastern part of the island appear to be more fragmented and more widely distributed than in the western part of the island. Due to the high seismicity in the region, the question has come up whether a correlation between seismic activity and distribution and preservation conditions of archaeological remains exists or not. In order to investigate the mentioned relationship, we looked at the cumulative effect of continuing earthquakes for the last hundred years on the island of Zakynthos. We used ground acceleration to quantify the earthquake-induced damage. The predicted cumulative destruction intensity is presented on a map, and it illustrates that we can cautiously attribute the distribution difference of the archaeological remains with different preservation conditions to the seismic activity on the island. It is hoped that this study will initiate new scientific research into the characteristics of the distribution of archaeological remains in seismically active areas. In addition, it is to be expected that this study will contribute to in situ preservation studies relating to the long-term effect of seismic activities on the archaeological record.

The Ionian zone is a classic thin-skinned linear fold and thrust belt forming a part of the external Hellenides, in westernmost Greece. The region has been a focus of intensive paleomagnetic investigation since the early 1980s, and it is now generally believed to have undergone a multiphase clockwise vertical-axis rotation of 40°–60° since the Miocene, although the timings are disputed, and spatial variations within this trend have been largely ignored thus far. We present data from thirty new paleomagnetic sites and a reappraisal of previous results from the Ionian zone in an attempt to construct a unified model for the tectonic evolution of the Ionian zone. We find that the clockwise rotations may be due, at least partially, to rotation during thrust sheet emplacement, with evidence of a forelandward decrease in rotation. However, superimposed on this pattern of thin-skinned rotations we observe post-Pliocene rotations that affect multiple thrust sheets in a consistent manner. These are interpreted to result from regional tectonics associated with, for example, the Kefallonia fault zone at the western termination of the Hellenic arc and from deformation in the transition zone between Anatolian westward extrusion and southern Aegean extension. Overall, the result is a pattern of thin-skinned, westward-decreasing clockwise rotations distorted by superimposed thick-skinned rotations resulting from the complex interplay of plate motions in the eastern Mediterranean.