Coastal Vulnerability of Archaeological Sites of Southeastern Crete, Greece

The study assesses coastal evolution and the vulnerability of archaeological sites in Southeastern Crete. Shoreline dynamics since the 1940s were examined through the interpretation of high-resolution aerial photographs and satellite images. A set of climatic variables, as well as data on geomorphological and geological factors obtained from fieldwork, images interpretation, archives, and open-source datasets, were analysed. The influence of these variables on coastal dynamics was evaluated using regression analysis, correlating their spatial distribution with rates of shoreline retreat/advance. Based on this, variables for the Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) calculation were selected, and the weighting for the weighted CVI (CVIw) was determined. The classical CVI identified 13.7% of the study area’s coastline as having very high vulnerability to coastal hazards, 15.5% as highly vulnerable. In the case of CVIw, 17.5% of the coasts of the area were classified as having very high level of vulnerability, 39.6%—as highly vulnerable. Both approaches, the CVI and the weighted CVI, highlighted the most vulnerable areas in the north, east, and southeast of Koufonisi Island, as well as the north and east of Chrisi Island. The least vulnerable areas include the wide beaches in enclosed bays, such as Gra Lygia, Ierapetra, and Ferma, along with rocky capes east of Ierapetra. Among the five archaeological sites examined, two (Lefki Roman Town and Stomio Roman Villa) fall within zones of high or very high coastal vulnerability. This study provides the first in-depth analysis of coastal dynamics and vulnerability of Southeastern Crete, a region with significant cultural heritage yet previously under-researched.