ARCHEOLOGIA DEL PAESAGGIO COSTIERO ALLA FOCE DEL FIUME AKRAGAS DI AGRIGENTO

Abstract

The research on the ancient harbour of Agrigento aims to clarify its topography, foremost through the archaeological
evidence useful to define the chronology and through the geological study by defining the environmental
change. The aggressive construction of buildings in this area since the 1950s, the erosion as well as the continuous
changes in the coastline, stressed by breakwater barriers along the seaward side, hugely influenced the
development of this ongoing study. Archive documentation allows us to know the lost landscape of the coast. The
geological observation and the evaluation of aerial photography led to the hypothesis of an inner basin open a
few metres to the south of the confluence of the two main rivers, surrounding the ancient city, in one river, called
Akragas by the Greeks.

Key words: Agrigento, Akragas, archaeology, coast, landscape.