This study provides a high-resolution reconstruction of the vegetation of the Argive Plain (Peloponnese, Greece) covering 5000 years from the Early Bronze Age onwards. The well dated pollen record from ancient Lake Lerna has been interpreted in the light of archaeological and historical sources, climatic data from the same core and other regional proxies. Our results demonstrate a significant degree of human impact on the environments of the Argive Plain throughout the study period. During the Early Bronze Age evidence of a thermophilous vegetation is seen in the pollen record, representing the mixed deciduous oak woodland of the Peloponnesian uplands. The plain was mainly used for the cultivation of cereals, whereas local fen conditions prevailed at the coring site. Towards the end of this period an increasing water table is recorded and the fen turns into a lake, despite more arid conditions. In the Late Bronze Age, the presence of important palatial centres modified the landscape resulting in decrease of mixed deciduous oak woodland and increase in open land, partly used for grazing. Possibly, the human management produced a permanent hydrological change at Lake Lerna. From the Archaic period onwards the increasing human pressure in association with local drier conditions caused landscape instability, as attested by a dramatic alluvial event recorded in the Pinus curve at the end of the Hellenistic Age. Wet conditions coincided with Roman times and favoured a forest regeneration pattern in the area, at the same time as we see the most intensive olive cultivation in the pollen record. The establishment of an economic landscape primarily based on pastures is recorded in the Byzantine period and continues until modern times. Overgrazing and fires in combination with arid conditions likely caused degradation of the vegetation into garrigue, as seen in the area of the Argive Plain today.

The thesis examines interconnections between the Corinthian Gulf and its surrounding hinterlands during the Archaic and Classical-Early Hellenistic period, c. 600 to 300 B.C. Interconnections have been studied through site patterns in the surrounding regions. The distribution of sites shows that significant clusters of habitation and localities interpreted as central place sites can be recognised along a series of natural routes connecting the coastal zone with inland areas. These routes often consist of river valleys, which often form a series of interconnected valley systems, though in many areas the upland environments also present recognisable paths between the coast and the hinterland. Imports in the archaeological record further point to the movement of goods along these routes and can be associated with patterns of trade. The movement of goods may also be correlated with developing regional economies and connectivity. The hinterlands contain multiple environments which stimulated different subsistence and production strategies, suggesting that coastal areas would have acted as connection points within exchange systems linked to these economies, especially those of upland landscapes. Pastoral production seems, in particular, to have played an important part and harbours by the Gulf presented possible outlets for the export of products such as wool and hides, as well as opportunities for the import of staples that could not be produced in sufficient quantities. The identified coast-hinterland routes can furthermore be linked with developing political landscapes, and the incorporation of coastal zones and routes into the territories of specific states. Remains of fortification walls indicate the development of a military infrastructure, which can be correlated with the development of state territories and which points to concerns over the military control of coast-hinterland routes.