Understanding the paleoenvironment is very important for any marine archaeological study. Any coastal site is subject to a wide variety of environmental processes that contribute to site formation. Anthropogenic activity, sea level changes, tectonic, meteroric, and oceanographic patterns may all have a part in site formation. Understanding these past conditions and how they have impacted on coastal sites and how they have changed temporally is very important information for the archaeological interpretation.
The goal of the Caesarea Ancient Harbor Paleoenvironmental Project is to further document the areal and temporal environmental changes within the ancient harbor in order to shed light on harbor morphology, how it functioned, and when it was destroyed. Through micropaleontological (foraminifera), sedimentological, and stratigraphic analysis the project has determined environmental changes relating to water energy and chemistry (salinity) enhancing the archaeological interpretation of the ancient harbor.