The Future of Ancient Forests

Programme

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 The Future of Ancient Forests
Conference
27/05/2022
Ness Gardens, University of Liverpool

The University of Liverpool, in partnership with Muğla Sıktı Koçman University, the
British Council and TÜBİTAK (Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey)
are delighted to invite you to The Future of Ancient Forests, a one-day multi-disciplinary
conference, exploring the interaction between ancient and modern environments,
archaeology, heritage, tourism and conservation. The conference will be held at Ness
Botanic Gardens in Ness, Cheshire on Monday the 20th of June 2022, and will feature
presentations from British and Turkish scholars in a variety of disciplines.
All are welcome.
Registration is Essential.
We look forward to seeing you.
Sincerely,
The Organising Committee

FOR REGISTRATION AND ENQUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT: J.B.KNIGHT@LIVERPOOL.AC.UK

Organising Committee
Dr. Alan M. Greaves (Liverpool)
Dr. Sena Akçer-Ön (Muğla)
Dr Z. Bora Ön (Muğla)
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Dr. John Brendan Knight (Liverpool)

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 SCHEDULE
Monday 27th June 2020
10:00 Arrival and Registration
MORNING COFFEE served in the Foyer
OPENING SESSION
10:30 Welcome and Orientation
10:50 Introductory Remarks: Prof. Bruce Gibson (Liverpool)
11:00 Dr Alan M. Greaves (Liverpool) The Ancient and Future Forests Project: A UK/Turkey
Partnership
Session 1: ARCHAEOLOGY IN A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT Chair: İsa Kızgut
11:10 Dr Sena Akçer-Ön (Muğla): When did the Gulf of Latmos isolate from the Aegean Sea?
11:30 Dr Alan M. Greaves (Liverpool): Integrating Archaeology and Environment: The
Sanctuary of Aphrodite at Miletos
11:50 Dr John Brendan Knight (Liverpool): Across the River and into the Sea. Milesian
Aphrodite at Home and Abroad
12:10 Ms Zahra Hashemi (Istanbul): Pollen Records, Trees and Climate

12:30 – 13:30: LUNCH served in Hulme Room

Session 2: HERITAGE, TOURISM AND CONSERVATION Chair: Alan M. Greaves
13:30 Prof. Ufuk Çörtük (Muğla): Conservation and Heritage Management at Caunos
13:50 Mr. George Downs (Liverpool): Heritage Tourism in Turkey
14:10 Ms Gülşen Yegen (Fethiye): ALPHA. Active Learning Protects Heritage and Archaeology
Project
14:30 Ms Nadia Callister (Liverpool): TBC
14:40 Mr Callum Hewitt (Liverpool): TBC
15:00-15:30 AFTERNOON TEA served in the Foyer
Session 3: ANCIENT AND FUTURE ENVIRONMENTS Chair: George Downs
15:30 Dr Z. Bora Ön (Muğla) Reconstruction of Eastern Mediterranean Holocene Temperature
through Bayesian Hierarchical Regression of Temperature Data
15:50 Ms Merve Gülcan (Muğla): Clay Minerals and Their Determination Techniques
16:10 Dr Alan M. Greaves (Liverpool): Climate Changes and Malaria: The Çaltılar Archaeology
Project
16:30 Prof Neil Macdonald (Liverpool): Forests, Fires and Floods: A climatic future
16:55 Closing Remarks: Turkish Consul
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 Getting here
Ness Botanic Gardens is located approximately 17 miles south of Liverpool and 10 miles north west of
Chester on Neston Road, nestled between the villages of Ness and Burton.

By car or coach

Please use CH64 4AY in your sat nav.

If traveling from Liverpool, take the M53 to junction 4 and then follow the brown signs.
If travelling from Manchester or Chester, take the M56 and then A5117 turning right onto the A540 and
then follow the brown signs.
If travelling from North Wales, take the A550, turn left onto the A540, and then follow the brown signs.

Public transport

By Bus
The 487 Arriva bus runs from Liverpool to Ness Botanic Gardens between Monday and Saturday, every half
an hour. On Sundays, the 488 follows the same route. Click here to view the bus timetable on Arriva's
website.
The 22 bus runs between Chester and West Kirby, Monday to Saturday every hour. If alighted at Little
Neston, Royal Oak public house, the walk is just under a mile.

By train
If travelling by train, alight at Neston Station on the Bidston to Wrexham line and transfer to the 487 or
488.

National Cycle Route

We are located approximately 2 miles south of the national route 56 & the Wirral Way and are
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approximately 1 mile north of national route 568.

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Bicycle racks are available.

Abstracts

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 When did the Gulf of Latmos isolate from the Aegean Sea?
Sena Akçer-Ön1, Alan M. Greaves2, Sturt W. Manning3, Z. Bora Ön1, M. Namık Çağatay4, Mehmet Sakınç5,
Aslı Oflaz6, Cemal Tunoğlu7, Rana Salihoğlu1
1. Muğla Sıtkı Koçman Üniversitesi, Geological Engineering Department, MUĞLA, TURKEY

2 Liverpool University, Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, UK

3 Cornell University, Department of Classics, NEW YORK, USA

4 İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, Avrasya Yer Bilimleri Enstitüsü, İSTANBUL, TURKEY

5İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, EMCOL Research Centre & Geological Engineering Department, İSTANBUL,

TURKEY
6 Christian-Albrechts-Universitat zu Kiel, Human Development in Landscapes, KIEL, GERMANY

7 Hacettepe Üniversitesi, Geological Engineering Department, ANKARA, TURKEY

High resolution multi-proxy data and the application of original 14C dating models from the
analysis of a new ~3m long core, recovered from Lake Bafa in SW Anatolia, indicate that it
formed and ceased to be a fully marine environment at an unexpectedly early date.

Lake Bafa is a residual part of the larger Gulf of Latmos (west Anatolia), which alluviated rapidly
as a result of the extreme progradation of the Büyük Menderes river system. This process is
typically cited as being the cause of Lake Bafa’s separation from the gulf. It is also thought to be
responsible for the demise of the adjacent settlements of Herakleia, Myous, Priene and Miletos,
sometime in the early first millennium A.D. The multi-proxy data, faunal changes and calibrated
14C dates of this study suggest three different phases occured in the last 9000 years BP. An age

model is constructed using a Poisson process, while different reservoir ages have been assumed
for different environments of the core. A shallow marine phase, ending around 500 ±300 BC, is
observable at the bottom of the core. The second phase exhibits isolated lagoon conditions
where the lake level has decreased. This phase ends at around 1350 ±50 A.D. Finally, following
this, we observe the present-day brackish phase. In sum, Bafa was separated from the Aegean
Sea in about 500 BC and became a lake.

Keywords: Lake Bafa, radiocarbon, Ionia, Büyük Menderes Valley, sedimentary records.
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 Conservation and Heritage Management at Caunos
Ufuk Çörtük
Muğla Sıtkı Koçman Üniversitesi, Classical Archaeology, MUĞLA, TURKEY.

Caunus, being amongst the most important harbour towns of antiquity, is located in the Southwestern
Aegean region on the western bank of the Dalyan River (Calbis), which connects Köyceğiz Lake
with the Mediterranean. The fact that the founders of Caunus were natives of Anatolia is also proved
by its particular and different local name. The city was founded upon a peninsula which extends
towards the sea like a tongue, formed by the 152 m high acropolis and the 50m high lesser acropolis
(today called Küçük Kale) to the southwest. The spectacular rock-cut tombs which meet the eyes of
the visitors coming to Caunus by way of either sea or land are undoubtedly the most Significant
examples of funerary architecture in Caunus.

Archaeological excavations commenced in 1966 under the direction of Baki Öğün, from which date
archaeological research has been carried on uninterruptedly. Today the site attracts 40,000 visitors a
year, making it the most visited archaeological attraction in Muğla province and it is on the Tentative
List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. A new site management plan combines conservation and
ecological awareness to create an enhanced visitor experience. For example, in the Theater on the
western slope of the Acropolis, which had a seating capacity for 5000 spectators, damaged seats have
been replaced with sustainable timber rather than concrete and there are plans to reconstruct its unique
periaktos.

Keywords: Caunos, conservation, restoration, site management, visitor experience

Heritage Tourism in Turkey

George Downs
University of Liverpool, Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, UK.

TBC

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 Climate Changes and Malaria: The Çaltılar Archaeology Project
Alan M. Greaves
University of Liverpool, Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, UK.

The University of Liverpool’s ten-year archaeological survey at Çaltılar Höyük in the yayla
(summer upland meadows) above Fethiye revealed a dynamic and changing pattern of
occupation over the last ten thousand years. Working with Muğla University, we are now
attempting to correlate these changes in settlement at Çaltılar with changes in climate and the
risk of malaria. Although there appears to be a connection between the risk of malaria and
prehistoric occupation at the site, later historical events and other factors affect the results
that we see at the site. The integrated environmental/archaeological model that we propose
can be applied to other sites worldwide to understand the role that malaria played in human
settlement practices over time and, potentially, into the post-Climate Change future.

Keywrods: Çaltılar, malaria, climate change, climate modelling, human settlement

Integrating Archaeology and Environment: The Sanctuary of

Aphrodite at Miletos
Alan M. Greaves
University of Liverpool, Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, UK.

The sanctuary of Aphrodite at Zeytintepe near Miletos is one of the most important
archaeological discoveries in the Ionia region of western Turkey. This paper discusses how our
new understanding of the geomorphological environment of the site changes how we interpret
the archaeological evidence and the very character of the cult itself. Rather than being a
goddess of love or the sea, we can now understand Milesian Aphrodite as a deity with a unique
connection to the fertile ‘ecotone’ environment of the lagoon that her temple overlooked.

Keywords: Miletos, Aphrodite, Zeytintepe, environment of religion, lagoon 8

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 Clay Minerals and their Determination Techniques
Merve Gülcan
Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Department of Geological Engineering, MUĞLA, TURKEY

Clays are generally formed by the chemical and physical dissolution of feldspars or volcanic
rocks under certain conditions. The term clay is named for: (1) a natural material with plastic
properties, and (2) very fine-sized particles; conventionally defined as smaller than two
micrometers (Grim et al., 2014). The clay minerals are defined as aluminium, hydro-silicate
and, depending on its type, other elements such as magnesium and iron. It is formed of
Aluminum silicates, as well as non-clay materials such as quartz, feldspar, etc. The factors that
influence clay formation include, not only the mineralogy of the main rock, but also transport,
washing, and chemical reactions (Malayoğlu and Akar,1995).

The principal methods of investigation of clay minerals are X-ray diffraction (XRD) and
Scanning electron microscope (SEM). For the XRD, the diffractograms generally plot between
2°-82° (2ϴ) with a scanning rate of 2° /min. Mineral identifications are based on the combined
methods of Moore and Reynolds (1989), Thorez (1976), and Chen (1977). The SEM method
helps us determine the morphological and chemical composition of clay minerals. Energy-
dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS), attached to SEM, is also used to identify the elemental
compositions of the selected points or areas.

Keywords: Clay Minerals, X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope(SEM)

Pollen Records, Trees and Climate

Zahra Hashemi
Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Department of Geological Engineering, MUĞLA, TURKEY

Palynology is the science which deals with the study of pollen grains and spores with other
palynomorphs. One of the most prominent fields of palynological studies is geoarcheology and
paleoclimatology. Pollen analysis can reveal evidence of past ecological and climate changes
through geological time. It is also able to provide us information about human societies in the
past. Between 2008 and 2010, the University of Liverpool, in cooperation with EMCOL
laboratory of Istanbul Technical University, have carried out topographic, archeological and
physiological surveys on three archeological sites: Çaltılar Höyük, including Çaltılar; Seki-
Eceler, and Lake Yazır. These allowed the development of secure aging and dating models and
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to provide a correlation between the dated paleo-environmental record and human settlement
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history. In this paper, we discuss pollen analysis undertaken on sediment cores obtained from
Lake Yazır and Seki-Eceler, with the aim of evaluating human effects on climate change during
the Holocene. We extracted palynomorphs from the sediment core samples by dissolving in HCl
and HF acids to remove carbonate and silicate respectively. Pollen analysis was continued using
a Leica microscope at ITU Eurasia Institute of Earth System Sciences. The task of counting and
identifying pollen grains and spores remains in progress. We will use Tilia software to draw a
pollen diagram. We expect to correlate these data with archeological and geological results to
obtain an exact understanding of geochronology of the region, construct a precise age model,
and identify human influence on climate change. Finally, we will undertake a broad perspective
comparison of our results with sites in the lower Eşen valley including Oinanda, Xanthos and
Patara. This will allow us to construct a comprehensive picture of settlement history in the
region, and its impact on climate change during the Holocene.

Keywords: Çaltılar, Pollen analysis, palynomorps, climate change, Holocene

Across the River and into the Sea.

Milesian Aphrodite at Home and Abroad
John Brendan Knight
University of Liverpool, Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, UK.

The worship of Aphrodite at Miletos was long suspected prior to the discovery of her temple
on Zeytintepe in the 1990’s. A number of literary texts allude to the sanctuary of the goddess at
a place called Oikous, the epithet by which graffiti from the site refers to her. Yet, prior to this,
a wealth of evidence indicated her worship by Milesian migrants, particularly in the Black Sea.
The environments that these migrants settled in, characterised by bays, lagoons and estuaries,
are frequently ecotonal. Places where salt and fresh water meet; analogous with the
environment in which she was worshiped at Miletos. Temples dedicated to Aphrodite have
been identified at Histria, Berezan, Olbia and Kepoi and her worship is known elsewhere
through finds of statuettes and graffiti. This paper will provide a survey of Aphrodite worship
in the Black Sea, focusing on epigraphic, votive and topographical evidence. We conclude that
the worship of Aphrodite amongst Milesian migrants, bore important similarities with her
worship in the emigrant community and indicate patterns of religious practices across a wide
area.

Keywords: Aphrodite, Black Sea, Greek Colonisation, Miletos, Archaic period, topography of
Greek religion.
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 Forests, Fires and Floods: A climatic future
Neil Macdonald
University of Liverpool, Geography and Planning, UK.

Climate change presents a challenge for many regions of the world including Turkey, with
threats from changing precipitation patterns and increased temperatures, that will exacerbate
the threat to ecosystems from drought, wildfires and floods. The recent UN IPCC report (2021)
identified that rising temperatures and severe weather conditions will present challenging
conditions for Turkey in the future; with temperatures predicted to increase by 2.5⁰C by 2050
in eastern and central Turkey and by ~1.5⁰C in coastal regions, with temperatures exceeding
40⁰C for extended periods. Projections also suggest that precipitation will decrease by ~10%
in coastal regions; this combination of decreased precipitation and increased temperatures will
increase current water stresses. Whilst it is difficult to attribute singular events to climate
change, last year witnessed high temperatures resulting in drought, widespread wildfires in
the southwest Turkey and floods that caused >75 fatalities in northwest Turkey, all within a
single month (August, 2021); are these a realisation of Turkey’s future climate?

Keywords: Climate change, wildfires, drought, floods, environmental disasters

Reconstruction of Eastern Mediterranean Holocene Temperature

through Bayesian Hierarchical Regression of Temperature Data
Z. Bora Ön1, Neil Macdonald2, Sena Akçer-Ön1, Alan M. Greaves3
1Muğla SK Üniversitesi, Mühendislik Fakültesi, Jeoloji Mühendisliği Bölümü, Kötekli, Muğla, Türkiye
2University of Liverpool, Geography and Planning, University of Liverpool, UK

3University of Liverpool, Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, UK

We present here a 10k year temperature reconstruction for the eastern Mediterranean, using
a Bayesian average of 33 different Holocene temperature records. We apply Bayesian
hierarchical (or “multi-level”) regression models to the data points in 300-year long windows,
starting from 0 years before present (BP) and proceed in 150-year steps. The hierarchical
model finds the best possible line at each chronological window, describing each dataset and
the grouped data in that temporal window. Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling
methods, such as Gibbs sampling, allows information to be shared across individual
temperature anomaly datasets and the grouped data at each sampling step. This brings the low-
level parameters of the model to relatively shrunken posterior distributions, even if the
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regression curve does not have enough data points for a narrow posterior distribution, based
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on a weak prior distribution. The model can also reveal a more accurate way of representing
grouped data through transferred information from individual datasets, even if the grouped
data appears to have low correlation. From the analysis of grouped data at each interval, we
find the posterior predictive distribution for the midpoint of that interval and present this
distribution as being representative for that interval as a whole. In conclusion, we present an
evenly spaced temperature anomaly time series of the Eastern Mediterranean, with the
uncertainty intervals of the model, for the last 10 ka BP.

Keywords: Bayesian statistics, hierarchical model, Holocene, MCMC, temperature

ALPHA (Active Learning Protects Heritage and Archaeology

Project)
Gülşen Yegen
FETAV - Fethiye Turizm Tanıtım Kültür Çevre ve Eğitim Vakfı, Türkiye.

One of the two main phases of the ‘Carved in Stone’ Project, implemented in 2017, aimed to
change the attitude towards cultural heritage in local communities in Turkey and raise
awareness of recognition and protection through community-based heritage education. In line
with this goal, the project collaborated with FETAV, a local NGO in Fethiye district of Muğla
province, allowing pilot applications to be carried out in Fethiye Museum.

The ALPHA (Active Learning Protects Heritage and Archaeology) project, developed and
implemented by the University of Liverpool, and funded by the British Institute of Archaeology,
was carried out in 2021-2022. The main objective of the project is to create cultural heritage
awareness through active learning methods. A training package has been prepared which
consists of 10 games which can be applied in the classroom, considering the conditions of the
Covid-19 pandemic. A Teacher's Guidebook was developed alongside the training package. The
project was rolled out in 6 provinces in Turkey (Muğla, İzmir, Kilis, Hatay, Gaziantep, Niğde).
Village schools and low socio-economic level schools were selected. In Kilis this was
undertaken in a Refugee Camp school for Syrian refugees. Classes all consisted of students of
Syrian origin.. A total of 21 teachers participated in the project, though 4 could not implement
the project games for various reasons. The ALPHA games were applied by a total of 17 teachers
(17 classes), consisting of 386 children, including 303 Turkish citizens and 83 refugees. 12
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