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We present the geomorphological map of the northwestern part of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, where the landscape expresses the tectonic activity associated with the Arabia-Eurasia convergence and Neogene climate change. These processes influenced the evolution of landforms and fluvial pathways, where major rivers Tigris, Khabur, and Great Zab incise the landscape of Northeastern Mesopotamia Anticlinal ridges and syncline trough compose the Zagros orogen. The development of water and wind gaps, slope, and karsts processes in the highlands and the tilting of fluvial terraces in the flat areas are the main evidence of the relationship between tectonics, climate variations and geomorphological processes. During the Quaternary, especially after the Last Glacial Maximum, fluctuating arid and wet periods also influenced local landforms and fluvial patterns of the area. Finally, the intensified Holocene human occupation and agricultural activities during the passage to more complex societies over time impacted the evolution of the landscape in this part of Mesopotamia.

International audience; Digital documenting of archaeological evidence represents a crucial tool in the study, preservation, management, and promotion of archaeological sites in remote regions and in fragile landscapes. In fact, in marginal environment, the knowledge related to archaeological heritage can quickly disappear, especially when policies to protect cultural heritage are unreliable or lacking. In the last few decades, archaeological fieldwork has seen the increasing use of Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetric technique as a tool for mapping and recording archaeological evidence. This technique allows the creation of highly detailed 3D models of archaeological sites, monuments, and artefacts from sets of simple but accurately taken pictures, thus preserving the data for further research or (digital) cultural valorisation. Nowadays, low-cost/commercial off-the-shelf sensors (professional and semi-professional digital cameras and smartphones as well) are widely available and accessible by most of the users operating in cultural heritage documentation. This has made the acquisition of field pictures in archaeological research much more flexible and cost-effective. 3D models obtained from these pictures through photogrammetric commercial software can be scaled with a known-measure providing highly detailed models for archaeological purposes. This enhances the ability of archaeologists to record archaeological features during field surveys and rapidly obtain 3D models. This is especially useful in the case of archaeological surveys carried out in remote and barely accessible areas. In this paper, we present the results of the application of the above-mentioned methods during archaeological surveys in the Sultanate of Oman, where several archaeological features have been recorded through SfM photogrammetry using commercial devices and portable scale-bars. We demonstrate that this is a highly-flexible and fast process to record archaeological heritage in low-accessible or fragile contexts, where a 3D model (with centimetric precision) represents a valuable dataset for further in-lab analysis and cultural dissemination.

The Mt. Cusna ridge, located in the Northern Apennines (North Italy), is a mountain area of relevant geological interest for the interaction through time of distinct geomorphic processes, acting since the end of the Last Glacial Maximum. A geomorphological map at the 1:10,000 scale was produced to characterise the main landforms and processes identifiable on the ridge. From this, a detailed reconstruction of the Holocene landscape history of the area is drawn. After deglaciation, at the end of the Pleistocene, glacial and periglacial processes left wide deposits and barren surfaces. Slope and running water processes acted cyclically on the landscape through phases of stronger slope denudation and landslide activation followed by stability periods. These processes are related to the main climatic changes recorded for the N Apennines during the Holocene. Since the Late Holocene, the impact of human communities may have played a prominent role as an agent of landscape modification.

We present the results of the geomorphological mapping of a region of the Dhofar (Sultanate of Oman) including two contrasting physiographic units sharing a common drainage system into the Arabian Sea: the Jebel Qara limestone massif and the coastal plain of Salalah. Neogene to Quaternary tectonic activity controlled the formation of an extensive system of faults and caused the uplift of the Jebel Qara, forming structural escarpments. The massif underwent karstification and subsequent linear erosion. Today the Jebel is cut by a dendritic net of dry valleys, occasionally dammed by calcareous tufa dams. The transition between the southern escarpment of the Jebel and the plain below displays flat alluvial fans, bordered by a strip of beachrock, coastal dunes, and coastal lagoons, located in correspondence to estuaries. Dramatic soil erosion is evident, linked to intense human-triggered zoogeomorphological processes started in the Mid-Late Holocene after the introduction of pastoral land-use.

We present the results of the geomorphological mapping of a region of the Dhofar (Sultanate of Oman) including two contrasting physiographic units sharing a common drainage system into the Arabian Sea: the Jebel Qara limestone massif and the coastal plain of Salalah. Neogene to Quaternary tectonic activity controlled the formation of an extensive system of faults and caused the uplift of the Jebel Qara, forming structural escarpments. The massif underwent karstification and subsequent linear erosion. Today the Jebel is cut by a dendritic net of dry valleys, occasionally dammed by calcareous tufa dams. The transition between the southern escarpment of the Jebel and the plain below displays flat alluvial fans, bordered by a strip of beachrock, coastal dunes, and coastal lagoons, located in correspondence to estuaries. Dramatic soil erosion is evident, linked to intense human-triggered zoogeomorphological processes started in the Mid-Late Holocene after the introduction of pastoral land-use.

Chemical characterization of cryptotephra is critical for temporally linking archaeological sites. Here, we describe cryptotephra investigations of two Middle–Upper Paleolithic sites from north‐west Italy, Arma Veirana and Riparo Bombrini. Cryptotephra are present as small (75 wt.%) with low FeO ( 1 and P2 is also a high silica rhyolite (>75 wt.%) but with higher FeO (2.33–2.65 wt.%). Shards at Riparo Bombrini (P3) are of the same composition as P1 shards at Arma Veirana, providing a distinct link between deposits at both sites. Geochemical characteristics suggest three possible sources for P1 and P3: eruptions from Lipari Island (56–37.7 ka) in Italy, the Acigöl volcanic field (200–20 ka) in Turkey and the Miocene Kirka‐Phrigian caldera (18 Ma) in Turkey. Eruptions from Lipari Island are the most likely source for P1,3 cryptotephra. This study highlights how cryptotephra can benefit archaeology, by providing a direct link between Arma Veirana and Riparo Bombrini as well as other deposits throughout the Mediterranean.