The ancient Gulf of Latmos is an iconic example of a dynamic landscape and humankind's historical relationship with it. Using extensive new primary data and original models for calibrating radiocarbon dates in transitional lagoon environments, we demonstrate that Lake Bafa (or Bafa Gölü, in Turkish) formed at a much earlier date than previously thought. In questioning the logical process by which previous dates were achieved, we re‐examine the relationship between sedimentological data, archaeology and written history. We reassert the need to establish independently dated environmental data sets as the foundation of regional studies as distinct from archaeological and historical interpretive processes. We conclude that Lake Bafa slowly transitioned to become an isolated lagoon sometime between the end of the second millennium B.C. and end of the first millennium B.C.; becoming a fully closed brackish lake during the second millennium A.D. This marks a major shift in our understanding of the nature of human occupation and activity here during the last four millennia but also in the way we date ancient lagoons and integrate historical and environmental data in general.

中文翻译：

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重塑土耳其西部巴法湖的形成：综合的地质考古方法以及新的环境和年代证据

古老的拉特莫斯湾是动态景观和人类与之的历史关系的标志性例子。通过使用大量新的原始数据和原始模型来校准过渡泻湖环境中的放射性碳日期，我们证明了Bafa湖（或土耳其语中的BafaGölü）的形成要比以前想象的要早得多。在质疑实现先前日期的逻辑过程时，我们重新检查了沉积学数据，考古学和书面历史之间的关系。我们重申需要建立独立标注日期的环境数据集，以作为不同于考古和历史解释过程的区域研究的基础。我们得出的结论是，在公元前第二个千年末之间的某个时候，Bafa湖逐渐过渡成为一个孤立的泻湖 公元前第一个千年结束；在公元第二个千禧年成为一个完全封闭的咸淡湖。这标志着我们对过去四千年来这里人类居住和活动性质的认识有了重大转变，同时也标志着我们对古代泻湖的约会方式以及对历史和环境数据的总体整合。