Beach Nourishment Alternatives for Mitigating Erosion of Ancient Coastal Sites on the Mediterranean Coast of Israel

Since 2011, beach nourishment has become the preferred solution for mitigating coastal erosion along the Mediterranean coast of Israel, as it is considered “soft” and environmentally friendly. However, using fine sand for nourishment in Israel without supporting measures is problematic due to the high wave energy and strong longshore currents in the littoral zone that tend to drift the sand away. This would require ongoing, multiyear, costly, and never-ending maintenance. In the present study, we analyzed sand and pebble alternatives for nourishment of the eroded beach in front of Tel Ashkelon, an important coastal archaeological site in southern Israel that suffers from severe erosion. Based on Pranzini et al. (2018), we analyzed the alternatives, evaluated their cost and efficiency, and assessed their potential environmental impacts. The study concluded that for protecting the southern part of Tel Ashkelon beach, pebble nourishment is the optimal solution, mainly regarding durability and cost. Using this material for nourishment will better absorb the storm wave impact and protect the foot of the archaeological Tel from erosion, and require lower maintenance cost than using finer sand nourishment.