Nuragic to late-Roman sea-level changes and urban layout evolution at the site of Nora (Sardinia, Italy)

In order to explore the relationship between the coastal zone and the urban layout of the ancient city of Nora (Sardinia, Italy), in 2011 the Department of Cultural Heritage of the University of Padua launched an interdisciplinary research project that currently involves the Universities of Pisa and Bologna. The processing of the archaeological and geological data collected during the fieldworks has provided a suite of new proxies to estimate the rates of sea-level evolution in Nora from the mid-2nd century B.C. to the 5th century A.D. This paper presents the results of the project, exposing some reconstructive proposals of the urban extent and layout of Nora between the Nuragic Age and the Late Antiquity. Since coping with the sea level rise is a matter of increasingly urgency, some strategies against the erosional risk affecting the archaeological heritage are finally reported.