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espanolEste trabajo analiza la evolucion vertical de facies y el contenido en Ag y Bi de un testigo continuo extraido en el estuario medio del rio Tinto (S.O. Espana). El analisis sedimentologico y paleontologico permite definir cuatro facies sedimentarias, caracteristicas de depositos aluviales (F1: 6,5-6,2 ka BP), la presencia de facies estuarinas durante la inundacion marina del sector coincidente con el maximo transgresivo holoceno y el periodo inmediatamente posterior (F2: 6,2-5,2 ka BP), el transito a marismas (F3: 5,2 ka BP-siglo XIX) y un relleno antropico de finales del siglo XX. Los contenidos de Ag y Bi permiten precisar tres periodos principales de contaminacion historica: i) inicio de las actividades mineras y explotacion de Ag durante la edad de Bronce (~4,5-3,2 ka BP); ii) periodo de maxima intensidad de la explotacion minera romana (siglos I-II DC); y iii) mineria intensiva reciente (desde 1870). EnglishThis paper analyzes the vertical evolution of facies and the Ag and Bi contents of a continuous core extracted in the middle estuary of the Tinto river (S.O. Spain). The sedimentological and paleontological analysis allows to define four sedimentary facies, characteristics of alluvial deposits (F1: 6.5-6.2 ka BP), the marine flooding of the sector during the maximum of the Holocene transgression and the period immediately after (F2: 6.2 -5.2 ka BP), the transition to marshes (F3: 5.2-19th century) and an anthropic landfill since the end of the 20th century. The concentrations of Ag and Bi make it possible to specify three main periods of historical contamination: i) the start of mining activities and the exploitation of Ag during the Bronze Age (~ 4.5-3.2 ka BP); ii) the period of maximum intensity of Roman mining (1st-2nd centuries DC); and iii) recent intensive mining (since 1870).

In his short joint ventures across the world of vertebrate tracks, Richard Bromley recognized the aeolian sands as unsuitable soft substrates for their preservation. Only after his work in the Bale...

In the Iberian Peninsula the fossil record of artiodactyls spans over 53 million years. During the Pleistocene, wild cattle species such as Bison and especially Bos became common. In Late Pleistocene, the aurochs (Bos primigenius) was widespread and the only bovine living along the large river valleys of southern Iberia. Although commonly found in fossil sites and especially in cave bone assemblages, the trace fossil record of aurochs was known worldwide only from the Holocene. Large bovine and roe deer/caprine tracks were found in at least five horizons of the early Late Pleistocene (MIS 5) beach and eolian deposits of Cape Trafalgar (Cadiz Province, South of Spain). The large bovine tracks are formally described as Bovinichnus uripeda igen. et isp. nov. and compared with the record of aurochs tracks, large red deer tracks and steppe bison biogeographical distribution in Iberia. Aurochs were the most likely producers of the newly described Trafalgar Trampled Surface (TTS) and some of the large artiodactyl tracks in the Matalascañas Trampled Surface, representing the oldest aurochs track record known. This new evidence, together with comparisons with the record of possible aurochs tracks in the Mid-Late Pleistocene coastal deposits from the Asperillo cliff section in Matalascañas (Huelva Province, SW Spain) and bone assemblages known in Gibraltar, point to a recurrent use of the coastal habitat by these large artiodactyls in SW Iberia., Fieldwork was partially supported by the Research Groups RNM-293, University of Huelva & Junta de Andalucía and Naturtejo, E.I.M., to CNC. Research work of SF is supported by the FCT (Science and Technology Foundation), through projects UID/Multi/00073/2020 Geosciences Center-Coimbra University. N. Moreira (ICT) is financed by FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., under the programmatic project Ref. UIDB/04683/2020. We acknowledge the contributions of the Editor and the two reviewers that greatly improved the text.

Valencina (Seville, Spain) is one of the most important megalithic sites of the third millennium BCE in Western Europe. Among its most celebrated monuments are the tholoi of Montelirio, La Pastora, Matarrubilla, and Structure 10.042-10.049. Although sharing the same architectural tradition, these monuments were raised at different times of Valencina’s history and present important formal differences. In particular, the tholoi of La Pastora and Matarrubilla contrast with that of Montelirio in that they are devoid of artistic ornamentation such as paintings and engravings, showing instead an inordinate number of natural geological features. This study, focusing on La Pastora and Matarrubilla, offers an innovative approach to the notion of “megalithic art.” Firstly, these elements are characterized and classified and their natural origin established. Thus, the calcareous sandstone blocks dated from the Tertiary reveal structures on their surfaces generated by biological (bioturbation) and physical (by currents) processes during the Neogene. The surfaces of certain slabs of identical lithology at La Pastora experienced more recent intense marine bioerosion and bioconstructions in the form of Ostrea preserved to this date. Secondly, we emphasize the choice of different rock types following a certain pattern or serving to highlight a particular constructive element. In sum, all the natural elements bear highly aesthetic qualities and appear to have been deliberately chosen to highlight specific decorative or symbolic aspects. As a result, we suggest that future research on “megalithic art” should include analogous geological examinations in order to discern the origin and nature of the different elements.

Vanguard Cave is an archaeological site located on the shoreline of the Rock of Gibraltar at the south-western extreme of the Iberian Peninsula. It is part of a limestone cave system facing the adjacent Governor's Beach on the south-eastern coast of Gibraltar and has been filled to the roof with more than 17 m of sedimentary deposits. Due to its long stratified sequence, comprising rich palaeoenvironmental and faunal records as well as multiple Palaeolithic occupation layers, Vanguard Cave provides valuable information for our understanding of human behaviour and dispersal across south-eastern Iberia in general and particularly about the strategic role of the promontory of Gibraltar for past human populations. The development of a reliable absolute chronology for the sedimentary sequence at Vanguard Cave is therefore of great importance in this context. In this study, we applied optically-stimulated luminescence dating to sand-sized quartz grains from the uppermost ∼4 m of the Vanguard Cave deposits, as well as from the Hyaena Cave sediments – a small niche adjacent to the main cave chamber. We use single-grain and multiple-grain dating to clarify the depositional history of the sedimentary sequence, as well as to assess the reliability of the two dating approaches and their potential for future chronological studies at the site. The single-grain and multi-grain ages are consistent with one another and indicate no partial bleaching or post-depositional mixing of the sediments. Our results suggest that Vanguard Cave experienced continuous sediment accumulation probably since the last sea-level highstand in MIS 5, and was completely filled by ∼43 ka (MIS 3). The eastern side of the Rock of Gibraltar faced an exposed coastal shelf covered with savannah and an active coastal dune system during MIS 3. Our results indicate that similar environmental conditions are likely to have persisted also during MIS 4 and large parts of MIS 5.

This paper presents pollen analyses on hyaena coprolites from Vanguard Cave, Gibraltar, with the aim of depicting the vegetation landscapes of the southern Iberian Neanderthals during the MIS 3. The Palaeolithic vegetation in the surroundings included pine, oak, juniper, Pistacia, and mixed woodlands, savannahs, riverine forest patches, heliophytic matorrals, rocky scrub with chamaephytes and hemicryptophytes, grasslands with heaths, shrubby grasslands, steppe-like saltmarshes, and littoral vegetation. We compare our results to those of previous palaeobotanical study in the adjacent Gorham's Cave providing data for the MIS 3 and MIS 2. Placing the palaeobotanical records of Vanguard and Gorham's Caves in European context, the southern coasts of Iberia emerge as the most thermic refugium of the Late Quaternary, which has important implications for existing arguments about the long survival of Neanderthals in the Iberian Peninsula. © 2018 Elsevier B.V.

The great site of Valencina de la Concepción, near Seville in the lower Guadalquivir valley of south-west Spain, is presented in the context of debate about the nature of Copper Age society in southern Iberia as a whole. Many aspects of the layout, use, character and development of Valencina remain unclear, just as there are major unresolved questions about the kind of society represented there and in southern Iberia, from the late fourth to the late third millennia cal BC. This paper discusses 178 radiocarbon dates, from 17 excavated sectors within the 450ha site, making it the best dated in later Iberian prehistory as a whole. Dates are formally modelled in a Bayesian statistical framework. The bulk of samples were chosen from the varied mortuary contexts, from pits and artificial caves to megalithic tholos tombs, which constitute a major part of the archaeology of Copper Age Valencina. The resulting formal date estimates provide the basis for both a new epistemological approach to the site as well as a much more detailed narrative of its development than previously available. Beginning in the 32nd century cal BC, a long-lasting tradition of simple, mainly collective and often successive burial was established at the site. There is plenty of evidence for a wide range of other activity, but no clear sign of permanent, large-scale residence or public buildings or spaces. Probably by the 30th or 29th century cal BC, a new form of mortuary practice had emerged alongside older traditions, in the shape of the distinctive megalithic tholos tombs, some of which contained exotic and abundant goods accompanying the dead. Though the models lack precision, this phase of showy funerals and social display, perhaps aimed at establishing new forms of descent and social hierarchisation partly based on the manipulation of the past, may not have lasted much beyond the 28th century cal BC. It is possible that activity as a whole had declined before the middle of the third millennium cal BC, and around 2500 cal BC, dated sectors indicate further changes in mortuary practice, with possible single events, containing in one instance signs of defleshing (perhaps associated with violence); by this date, Bell Beaker pottery was present on the site. Major monuments, such as La Pastora and Matarrubilla were probably also late constructions. At least some of the ditches known at the site probably also belong late in the sequence. Overall, a pattern is indicated of initial establishment and consolidation of mortuary tradition, followed by the emergence of the more elaborate tholos architecture and the sometimes exotic contents. Funerary activity probably declined in intensity in the second quarter of the third millennium cal BC but was followed by a resurgence including the construction of the grand tholos of La Pastora in the generations around 2500 cal BC. This resurgence was relatively brief and the intensive funerary activity probably ended during the 24th century cal BC. Results in general support a model of increasingly competitive but ultimately unstable social relations.

We compare the Middle Palaeolithic sites of Gibraltar and Zafarraya in southern Iberia. We use birds as indicators of environmental quality and demonstrate huge differences between coastal and inland, mountain, sites separated by less than 150 km. We conclude that the Gibraltar sites represented locations of repeated occupation by Neanderthals over tens of millennia whereas Zafarraya represents a site of sporadic visits for particular prey. This is in response to very different climatic conditions. Our results show how important ecological quality is in understanding Palaeolithic sites and metapopulations and how birds are particularly informative in our understanding of the ecology of such sites.

In recent decades, numerous studies have focused on the paleoenvironmental reconstruction of coastal areas, with special emphasis on the detection of tsunami layers. These multidisciplinary investigations usually do not study the mineralogy of the environment as well as the underlying or overlying layers.This paper analyzes the whole-rock mineralogy and clay minerals contained in seven short cores obtained in the Donana National Park (SW Spain) and deposited during the 5.000–1.500 cal. yr BP interval.The main purpose is to deduce the paleoenvironments from which the sedimentary facies present in them were formed and an approximation to the transport mechanisms involved in their formation. Results of X-ray diffraction analysis indicate that the main minerals are phyllosilicates, quartz and calcite, with smectites and illite being the most abundant phyllosilicates. According to the whole-rock mineralogy and additional statistical procedures (correlation, cluster analysis), the main source of quartz is the erosion of Donana spit, while the Guadalquivir river, its tributaries and the old lagoon have contributed mainly with smectite-rich phyllosilicates. On the contrary, waves, tides and high-energy events introduced illite and bioclasts in an old lagoon from the nearby shallow marine sectors. Consequently, the mineralogical analysis is revealed as an interesting tool for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction in this area, since it varies between different sedimentary environments. In addition, the combined study of whole-rock and clay mineralogy detects the tsunami layers and the provenance of their sediments in the studied cores.

Las investigaciones geomorfológicas y arqueológicas que actualmente se están desarrollando en el Paraje Natural Marismas del Odiel - reserva de la Biosfera por la UNESCO-, especialmente en el cordón arenoso de La Cascajera, han ofrecido interesantes resultados que permiten retomar los estudios sobre la ocupación del litoral onubense en época romana desde un punto de vista diacrónico en el tránsito del bajo imperio hacia la tardoantigüedad. A este respecto son numerosas las factorías pesqueras (cetariae) que jalonan la costa más occidental de la antigua Provincia Baetica y en las cuales, ahora tras un proceso de revisión, se pueden intuir o comprobar momentos de ruptura y recuperación en sus explotaciones que habría que poner en relación con eventos marinos catastróficos (EWE) que, de manera histórica, han afectado a estas costas.

La costa es una de las zonas más dinámicas del sistema terrestre, donde se produce la interacción de los procesos terrestres y marinos. Los cambios en el nivel relativo del mar, la evolución costera y los fenómenos extremos, como tormentas y tsunamis, son de gran interés local y global. La forma en que las culturas pasadas han hecho frente a los cambios ambientales y a los riesgos naturales proporciona importantes lecciones para la respuesta humana a los cambios futuros. Es frecuente que algunos estudio geoarqueológicos actuales, con enfoques geomorfológicos, paleoambientales y sedimentológicos, carezcan de la adecuada integración de datos arqueológicos e históricos. Este número especial de la revista Cuaternario y Geomorfología tiene como objetivo proporcionar una plataforma multidisciplinar que sirva para definir el estado actual de la ciencia geoarqueológica, en relación con los eventos marinos pasados de alta energía registrados en la costa ibérica del golfo de Cádiz. Confiamos que las contribuciones que aquí se presentan estimulen un fructífero debate sobre estos nuevos enfoques interdisciplinares y se mejore el conocimiento sobre la interacción entre los asentamientos humanos costeros y los riesgos geológicos pasados.

In this study we examined the materials used in the building of the tholos of La Pastora located in the archaeological site of Valencina de la Concepcion (Seville, Spain), which represents the largest settlement of the Guadalquivir Valley during the Third millennium BC. Three different types of rock were found: Palaeozoic sandstone-shale, which forms the walls of both the corridor and the chamber; Palaeozoic granite, which makes up part of the roof slabs; and Neogene calcareous sandstone, which forms the remainder of the roof and floor slabs, as well as the jambs, lintels and some blocks of the walls of the chamber. Intense marine bioerosion as a result of the activity of bivalves, annelids and sponges was observed in some elements of the calcareous sandstone. In fact, the remains of some of the tracemakers were unusually well-preserved, as was the case for the bivalve Petricola lithophaga, whose shells remain in many of their burrows. We infer that these bioerosion structures were formed in a shallow coastal environment (intertidal), and that bioerosion was possible until the few moments before its extraction as construction material. Thereby, the environment in which rock extraction took place was likely a coastal wave-cut platform, in which calcareous sandstone levels outcropped and stood out between clay layers. The radiocarbon dates obtained from these bivalve shells provide a time range between 4780 and 4400 cal yr BP (2830–2450 yr BC) as the highest probability for rock extraction and the subsequent building of the tholos. Thus, the date represents a “Terminus Post Quem” for the construction of the monument of La Pastora.

The Rock of Gibraltar, at the south-western extreme of the Iberian Peninsula and 21. km from the North African coast, is a 6-km long limestone peninsula which was inhabited by Neanderthals from MIS 5e until the end of MIS 3. A total of 8 sites, either with Neanderthal fossils or their Mousterian lithic technology, have been discovered on the Rock. Two, Gorham's and Vanguard Caves, are the subject of ongoing research. These caves are currently at sea level, but during MIS 3 faced an emerged coastal shelf with the shoreline as far as 5. km away at times. They hold a unique archive of fauna and flora, in the form of fossils, charcoal and pollen, helping environmental reconstruction of now-submerged shelf landscapes. In addition, geological and geomorphological features - a 300-metre dune complex, elevated aeolian deposits, raised beaches, scree, speleothems - complement the biotic picture.The work is further complemented by a study of the ecology of the species recorded at the site, using present-day observations. The species composition in this fossil record closely matches the present day fauna and vegetation of the Doñana National Park, SW Spain: a mosaic of pine groves, coastal dunes, shrubland and seasonal wetlands and currently the richest reserve in terms of biodiversity in the Iberian Peninsula, located only 100. km to the northwest from Gibraltar.All this information permits, for the first time, the quantification of the vegetation structure of the ancient coastal plain and the modelling of the spatio-temporal dynamics of the MIS 3 coastal shelf off Gibraltar

This paper reviews the sedimentological and geomorphological imprints of prehistoric and historical tsunamis in the four main estuaries of SW Spain. These imprints include beach erosion, filling of intertidal channels, deposition of bioclastic layers, washover fans and reworked aeolian sheets and the breaching of spits and tombolos. Most of these imprints were caused by the 218-209. BC and AD. 1755 tsunamis, although evidence of other tsunamis has been identified. In these two events, effects on human populations were severe and diverse, such as human loss of life, changes in coastal settlements and international borders, damage to port infrastructure or flooding of marsh and inhabited areas. New radiocarbon reservoir data were included in order to obtain an approach to the recurrence period of these high-energy events (700-1000. years) in this area. Gobierno de España CTM2006- 06722/MAR, CGL2006-01412/BTE, CGL2010-15810/BTE, CGL2012- 30875 European Union SEJ-4770 Fundaçao para a Ciência e a Tecnologia PTDC/CTE-GIX/110205/2009

The Tinto River shows very high concentrations of toxic elements and acidity from its source in the mining area to its mouth. In this paper, we studied the evolution of the levels of toxic elements during part of the Quaternary from the analysis of fluvial deposits that, forming terraces, were originated by the dynamics of the Tinto River. Using a detailed geomorphological cartography, up to nine terrace levels were differentiated in the lower sector of the basin, whose ages range from the Pleistocene to the Holocene. Sampling and geochemical analyses (major elements and trace) were carried out in six of these levels, in addition to sediments of the current flood plain. The results of these analyses do not show any bias from the mid Pleistocene (T8 - Terrace 8) to the early Holocene (T1). Moreover, these geochemical contents are similar to the average values obtained by other authors for the entire South-Portuguese Zone of the Iberian Massif. However, the current sediments of the Tinto River (T0) show a sharp increase in the levels of As, Cu, Pb and Zn compared to the rest, which indicates a serious increment of contamination by toxic elements. Although there are evidences on the existence of a natural process of oxidation of sulfides since the Miocene, the amounts of toxic elements released should be very small compared to those generated since the beginning of the mining activities in the Iberian Pyrite Belt., This research was funded by two Spanish-FEDER projects (AMB99-0226-C03, CGL2010-15810/BTE) and one Research Group of the Andalusia Board RNM-293.

The Last Interglacial is considered the most suitable episode from which to infer patterns of rapid sea-level change since its climatic conditions were similar to those of the present interglacial. However, specifying the true position of its sea level with high accuracy is very troublesome in the absence of sedimentological, erosional or even palaeontological markers. This study investigates the morphosedimentary evidence (beach deposits, cliff, notch and shore platform) of two highstands registered and dated during MIS 5 stage by U-series dating in the North of Morocco (Strait of Gibraltar). Bioerosive notches and mixed siliciclastic and carbonate deposits, high energy beaches with algal bioherms, were formed in coastal environments during MIS 5a. A sea-level height of + 10 m asl can be inferred for this substage. The record of MIS 5e substage is less defined in the geomorphological record, consisting of backshore/foreshore deposits located at + 13 to + 15 m asl. A tectonic uplift rate of ~ 0.1 mm/yr has been estimated for the last 130 kyr. These data are consistent with models of coastal uplifting calculated for the Strait of Gibraltar.

The uranium-series method is applied to date relic flowstone from karstic mountains in the south of Spain. Geomorphological mapping shows three staircased erosion surfaces with a typical karst landform. Exhumed flowstones fill the surficial palaeosinkholes and open fractures. Some of the samples analysed were impure carbonates consequently the leachate–leachate method was used to obtain activity ratios in the carbonate fraction. The ages obtained range from 34.4 ky to 266 ky and are grouped in four periods: 30–50 ky, 90–110 ky, 150 ky and 230–270 ky. All these periods are related to the warm climate oxygen isotope stages 3 and 5. Practically all locations present secular equilibrium in uranium isotopes.

Gorham’s Cave (Gibraltar) is currently the site with the most recent dates for Neanderthal presence in the world. The stratigraphy of late Neanderthal occupation of Gorham’s Cave is dated between 33 and 24 ka BP. This paper presents the analysis of the lithic industry from these statigraphic levels. This study establishes that this assemblage is undoubtedly Mousterian.

Although hardly applied to human palaeoecology, bird fossils offer a unique opportunity for quantitative studies of the hominin habitat. Here we reconstruct the Homo habitat niche across a large area of the Palaearctic, based on a database of avian fauna for Pleistocene sites. Our results reveal a striking association between Homo and habitat mosaics. A mix of open savannah-type woodland, wetlands and rocky habitats emerges as the predominant combination occupied by Homo across a wide geographical area, from the earliest populations of the Lower Palaeolithic to the latest hunter-gatherer communities of the Upper Palaeolithic. This observation is in keeping with the view that such landscapes have had long standing selective value for hominins.

On the basis of mineralogy, chemical and palaeontological data collected in a long core (93 m) three associations of facies are distinguished in the Late Pleistocene–Late Holocene evolution of the sedimentary infilling in nowadays Donana National Park. From the lower, middle and upper associations of facies three sedimentological phases have been established. In the oldest phase (> 44 kyr BP), this area was occupied by supratidal, freshwater marshes located close to a brackish lagoon and inundated suddenly by brackish-marine inputs. The following phase (44–7 kyr BP) is characterized by the transition from supratidal to intertidal conditions, with the alternation of freshwater or brackish marshes situated very close or in the margin of the former lagoon and submitted to episodes of desiccation or tidal inundation. The last phase (7–3.0 cal kyr BP) comprised: a) a marine inundation during the maximum of the Flandrian transgression (∼ 7–6.5 cal kyr BP); and b) the progressive infilling of a brackish lagoon with marine connection and permanent fresh water inputs (6.5–3.5 cal kyr BP), partially enclosed by the Donana spit. The phyllosilicate-rich, clayey–silty sequence of this latter infilling is interrupted by tsunami-like deposits at 4.2–3.6 cal kyr BP and 3.6–3.0 cal kyr BP. These high-energy events are characterized by textural (bimodal grain-size distribution, sorting decrease), mineralogical (crystallochemical changes in illites, increasing dolomite content) and geochemical changes (Ti anomaly), besides a sudden introduction of marine bivalves and microfauna and a strong decrease or the almost disappearance of the brackish ostracode assemblage. Ages of these deposits coincide with those indicated for other tsunamigenic layers detected in the southwestern Spanish coasts and some deep cores collected near the African–European plate boundary.

This review analyses the ostracod record in Holocene tsunami deposits, using an overview of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami impact on its recent populations and the associated tsunamigenic deposits, together with results from numerous investigations of other Holocene sequences. Different features such as the variability of the local assemblages, population density, species diversity, age population structure (e.g., percentages of adults and juvenile stages) or taphonomical signatures suggest that these microorganisms may be included amongst the most promising tracers of these high-energy events in marshes, lakes, lagoons or shallow marine areas.

Integrated analysis of a 50-m long sedimentary core collected in the central part of the Odiel estuary (SW Atlantic coast of Spain) allows delineation of the main paleoenvironmental changes that occurred in this area during the Holocene. Eight sedimentary facies were deposited in the last ca . 9000 years BP, confirming a transgressive–regressive cycle that involves the transition from fluvial to salt marsh deposits with intermediate marine tidal deposits. A storm event is detected at ca . 5705 14 C years BP (mean calibrated age) with distinct lithostratigraphical, textural, geochemical, and palaeontological features.

Four phases are distinguished in the Mid-Holocene evolution of the southwestern Donana National Park (SW Spain), based on the multidisciplinary study of sediments in drill cores. In the oldest phase (> 5500–5400 cal. years BP), a coastal, brackish lagoon occupied the central part of the study area, partly enclosed by the Donana spit and limited by fluvial levees. An evolution from subtidal to intertidal conditions characterized the areas located close to the inner side of the Donana spit during the same phase. The following phase (∼5400–5200 cal. years BP) is characterized by a high-energy event (tsunami?), which caused the breakthrough of the Donana spit and the creation of new littoral strands in the inner areas. In the first period of the third phase (∼5200–4200 cal. years BP), estuarine infilling was probably the dominant process, with the accumulation of phyllosilicate-rich clays in the lagoon bed. This was followed by a renewed phase of instability (∼4200–4100 cal. years BP) indicated by the presence of fine storm-lain deposits and thicker, probably tsunami-induced shelly deposits. The last phase (∼4100–3700 cal. years BP) comprises: a) an infilling period, with a diminution of the marine influence; and b) two new high-energy events, which caused the erosion of the Donana spit and the creation of new cheniers. In the last 7000 years, the comparison of these results with a revision of both geological and historical records has revealed the occurrence of twenty tsunamis (at least) during this period in Portugal and southern Spain. Evidences of these high-energy events are washover fans, bioclastic coarse-sized layers within salt marsh deposits or the presence of giant boulders and pebbles. The determination of the recurrence period is very difficult owing to the very scarce data, although our data and other authors do not discard a possible periodicity of 2000 years for a cycle of two events separated by 300–400 years.