 Over time the sediment accretion of the Crati river caused its river delta to shift towards the sea at a long term rate of one meter a year.As a consequence the successive sites of Sybaris, Thurii and Copia became landlocked and lost their importance because they no longer had easy access to the sea for trade.The period of its final decay is uncertain; but it seems to have been abandoned during the Middle Ages, when the inhabitants took refuge at a place called Terranova (Terranova da Sibari), about 15 kilometers inland, on a hill on the left bank of the Crati.