The aim of this study was to determine and present the Holocene shore displacement on Lista based on material obtained with a Hiller sampler by Professor Ulf Hafsten during the period 1955–1957 and in 1966. A shore displacement curve can serve as a tool in the localization of prehistoric sites and can give a better understanding of both rapid and long–term processes within the landscape. Small fluctuations in sea level may cause dramatic changes in the landscape, particularly in the low–lying Listalandet.
This article is part of a comprehensive pollenanalytical study of the southernmost coast region of Norway initiated by Ulf Hafsten in 1955 (Hafsten 1979, 1983a, b). Hafsten's principal objective was to trace the late Pleistocene shore displacement from Lista to Kristiansand (Hafsten pers. comm. in Nydal 1962).