Near-field relative sea-level (RSL) histories from the last glacial maximum (LGM) near glaciated continents give clues about the removal of ice sheet loads. However, temporal and spatial changes in the Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) during the Holocene are unknown because the sea-level records are insufficient to constrain the melting history using glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) modeling. We show that twelve ¹⁴C dates of in situ Laternula elliptica fossil shells and the sequence stratigraphy of raised beach deposits around Lützow-Holm Bay, East Antarctica, allow us to define an accurate sea-level curve showing a rapid sea-level drop of about 8 m for approximately 1500 years during the mid- to late Holocene. RSL predictions by GIA modeling require that the observed sea-level drop be attributed to the removal of about 100 m of ice load from the East Antarctic region. The contribution of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) to the eustatic sea-level rise is equivalent to about 1 m at the maximum; this value is equivalent to about 30% of the Holocene melting of the Antarctic ice sheet on the basis of RSL variations distant from the glaciated region at the LGM described by previous authors.