Ancient Bubastis (Tell Basta) remained occupied for over 3000 years despite the highly dynamic environmental conditions of the Nile Delta. This thesis reconstructs the city's landscape and settlement history using sediment coring, geophysical surveys, and phytolith analyses, demonstrating how geomorphology and changing land-use practices shaped long-term urban development.

We found Larix decidua at 2156 m altitude in front of the Morteratschgletscher (Engadin, CH) liberated recently from the ice. This tree stopped growing ~10 350 years ago. Another tree started to grow ~10 800 years ago (early Preboreal), which was ~800 years after the end of the Younger Dryas. At this time the glacier did not cover the sampling site. Thus, in the early Preboreal the terminus of the Morteratschgletscher was at much higher elevation in comparison to the present-day situation.