Researchers have narrowed the search for the lost harbor of the ancient Greek city of Gela to a buried coastal inlet in southern Sicily. Sediment cores and historical records show that seawater once reached Conca, an area near the Gela River that is now dry land. The inlet existed during the city’s Greek period.
The inlet lies between the river and the hill occupied by ancient Gela. Marine deposits sit about 15 to 23 feet below the surface, according to a study published in the journal “Heritage.” The basin offered a sheltered setting near the settlement, protected from waves and river floods.
Founded by settlers from Rhodes and Crete in 689-688 B.C., Gela grew into a major Greek trading center. Its fertile plain supplied grain for export, while imported objects reveal extensive trading links. Ancient accounts indicate its rulers maintained a military fleet.
Evidence for the lost harbor of the ancient Greek city
To understand how the landscape changed, researchers drilled five new boreholes to depths of about 33 feet and reviewed records from 25 earlier holes. They combined those findings with historical maps, aerial photographs from 1931 and 1954, and evidence from a 2019 archaeological trench.
The cores revealed layers of sand and clay formed in coastal waters, along with shells and microscopic marine fossils. Radiocarbon dating of buried wood and charcoal placed some deposits in the eighth century B.C., near the time Greek settlers established Gela. Pottery dating to about the sixth century B.C. was also recovered more than 24 feet underground.
These clues show that shallow seawater remained in Conca during the city’s Greek period. Researchers identified the basin as a suitable harbor setting, accessible from the sea and close to the settlement. Earlier studies had generally focused on the Gela River’s mouth as the likely port location.
How the ancient inlet disappeared beneath Sicily
The landscape changed as repeated floods from the Gela River deposited sediment across the inlet. The basin narrowed during the Hellenistic period and became increasingly marshy in Roman times. The nearby Margi channel also carried sediment into the area.
Later, windblown sand accumulated across the area, helping bury traces of its former coastline. Historical maps and old aerial photographs preserve evidence of the low-lying, flood-prone ground that remained.
Similar sheltered harbor settings have been proposed at Camarina and Selinunte, two other ancient Greek cities on Sicily’s southern coast. Researchers plan further underground surveys and drilling at Conca to locate archaeological features and map the full extent of the former inlet.
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