Palaeogeographical reconstruction of the battle terrain in Ancient Thermopylae, Greece

Abstract

The battle of Thermopylae (Malian Gulf, Central Greece) is one of the most famous ancient battles in European and world history. It took place on a narrow strip of land where it was possible for a few thousand Greeks to fight against the Persian army. The geomorphology of the battle terrain has changed significantly since ancient times due to the Sperchios River delta progradation. In this work an attempt is being made to undertake a palaeogeographical reconstruction of the pass and the battle terrain in Ancient Thermopylae in order to set out new information based on new geoarchaeological data. Geomorphological data in combination with geological, stratigraphical, paleontological data of an extensive drilling project supported by electrical resistivity tomography led to the determination of the palaeoenvironmental changes in the area of the Thermopylae Pass and for the palaeogeographical reconstruction of the battle terrain in ancient Thermopylae. The results of this research showed that in the “middle gate” of the Thermopylae Pass between the land and the sea there was a freshwater marsh supplied with large quantities of warm water coming from the thermal springs. The chronostratigraphical and sea level data confirmed its existence when the battle had taken place in 480 BC. This also confirms Herodotus' description that the road eastwards of Thermopylae was shut in by the sea and by marshes.

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