A Case Study in Archaeoseismology. The Collapses of the Selinunte Temples (Southwestern Sicily): Two Earthquakes Identified

Guidoboni, Emanuela; Muggia, Anna; Marconi, Clemente; Boschi, E.

doi:10.1785/0120010286

Cited by 39 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…the IV century B.C. and the IV-V century A.D events that destroyed the old Greek colony of Selinunte, see Guidoboni et al, 2002;Bottari et al, 2009). Taking into account the displacement (∼5 cm) of the ancient road along the CCA, and according to the empirical relationships of Wells and Coppersmith (1994) for reverse faults, this deformation can be related to an M ∼ 6 earthquake, capable of destroying the nearby temples of Selinunte and near to the magnitude value provided by seismological data for the 1968 Belice main shock.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These earthquakes, documented by the collapse of Greek temples in Selinunte, occurred between 370 and 300 B.C. and between 300 and 600 A.D. (Guidoboni et al, 2002;Bottari et al, 2009). Nevertheless, before the 1968 Belice seismic sequence, the westernmost segment of the SFTB was considered a seismically almost quiescent region.…”

Section: Seismotectonics Of South-western Sicilymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Geodetic and geological evidence of active tectonics in south-western Sicily (Italy)

Barreca

Bruno

Cocorullo

et al. 2014

Journal of Geodynamics

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a b s t r a c tIntegrated geological, geodetic and marine geophysical data provide evidence of active deformation in south-western Sicily, in an area spatially coincident with the macroseismic zone of the destructive 1968 Belice earthquake sequence. Even though the sequence represents the strongest seismic event recorded in Western Sicily in historical times, focal solutions provided by different authors are inconclusive on possible faulting mechanism, which ranges from thrusting to transpression, and the seismogenic source is still undefined. Interferometric (DInSAR) observations reveal a differential ground motion on a SW-NE alignment between Campobello di Mazara and Castelvetrano (CCA), located just west of the maximum macroseismic sector. In addition, new GPS campaign-mode data acquired across the CCA alignment documents NW-SE contractional strain accumulation. Morphostructural analysis allowed to associate the alignment detected through geodetic measurements with a topographic offset of Pleistocene marine sediments. The on-land data were complemented by new high-resolution marine geophysical surveys, which indicate recent contraction on the offshore extension of the CCA alignment. The discovery of archaeological remains displaced by a thrust fault associated with the alignment provided the first likely surface evidence of coseismic and/or aseismic deformation related to a seismogenic source in the area. Results of the integrated study supports the contention that oblique thrusting and folding in response to NW-SE oriented contraction is still active. Although we are not able to associate the CCA alignment to the 1968 seismic sequence or to the historical earthquakes that destroyed the ancient Greek city of Selinunte, located on the nearby coastline, our result must be incorporated in the seismic hazard evaluation of this densely populated area of Sicily.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Seismotectonics Of South-western Sicilymentioning

confidence: 99%

Geodetic and geological evidence of active tectonics in south-western Sicily (Italy)

Barreca

Bruno

Cocorullo

et al. 2014

Journal of Geodynamics

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“…Particularly the collapse of numerous columns in a preferred direction is considered as reliable evidence of seismic destruction (e.g., Karcz and Kafri 1978;Stiros 1996;Guidoboni et al 2002;Bottari 2003). Sometimes, wide traces of burning can be found, e.g., remains of burnt wood planks, grey films of burnt material over the tiles, etc.…”

Section: Deformation Of Building Remains Still In Primary Positionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Archaeoseismology: Methodological issues and procedure

2006

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Archaeoseismic research contributes important data on past earthquakes. A limitation of the usefulness of archaeoseismology is due to the lack of continuous discussion about the methodology. The methodological issues are particularly important because archaeoseismological investigations of past earthquakes make use of a large variety of methods. Typical in situ investigations include: (1) reconstruction of the local archaeological stratigraphy aimed at defining the correct position and chronology of a destruction layer, presumably related to an earthquake; (2) analysis of the deformations potentially due to seismic shaking or secondary earthquake effects, detectable on walls; (3) analysis of the depositional characteristics of the collapsed material; (4) investigations of the local geology and geomorphology to define possible natural cause(s) of the destruction; (5) investigations of the local factors affecting the ground motion amplifications; and (6) estimation of the dynamic excitation, which affected the site under investigation. Subsequently, a 'territorial' approach testing evidence of synchronous destruction in a certain region may delineate the extent of the area struck by the earthquake. The most reliable results of an archaeoseismological investigation are obtained by application of modern geoarchaeological practice (archaeological stratigraphy plus geological-geomorphological data), with the addition of a geophysicalengineering quantitative approach and (if available) historical information. This gives a basic dataset necessary to perform quantitative analyses which, in turn, corroborate the archaeoseismic hypothesis. Since archaeoseismological investigations can reveal the possible natural causes of destruction at a site, they contribute to the wider field of environmental archaeology, that seeks to define the history of the relationship between humans and the environment. Finally, through the improvement of the knowledge on the past seismicity, these studies can contribute to the regional estimation of seismic hazard.

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“…According to some authors (Angell & Evans, 1826;Cavallari, 1868;Fiorelli, 1877Fiorelli, , 1882, two main directions of collapse of the columns were identified. The northern and southern colonnades were found lying on the ground in a N-S direction with the northern column drums in a domino-style arrangement (Figure 5a; Schubring, 1865;Fiorelli, 1882;Salinas, 1894;Hulot & Fougères, 1910;Guidoboni et al, 2002), while the monolithic columns composing the southern side fell down parallel to each other. A few structural elements of this last colonnade collapsed over the cella inside the temple, and the architraves and the superstructure were found inside this room.…”

Section: Temple C At Selinuntementioning

confidence: 99%

“…A paper by Guidoboni et al (2002) reports that all temples in Selinunte collapsed as a consequence of two earthquakes. The authors suggested that the first event occurred between the mid-4th and the 3rd centuries B.C.…”

Section: Other Templesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Archaeological evidence for destructive earthquakes in Sicily between 400 B.C. and A.D. 600

2009

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A systematic archaeoseismological study indicates that at least three earthquakes occurred between 400 B.C. and A.D. 600, causing destruction to numerous ancient monuments in Sicily. Evidence for these earthquakes comes from the collapse style of buildings (toppled walls, column drums in a domino‐style arrangement, directional collapses, etc.), and the exclusion of other likely causes for such effects. Dating of inferred earthquakes is based on coins (accurate to within 5–10 years), pottery (accurate to within 50–200 years), and other artifacts. The oldest documented earthquake occurred between 370 and 300 B.C. and caused the collapse of two Greek temples in Selinunte. This otherwise poorly documented event was probably also the cause of extensive destruction in northeastern Sicily in the first century A.D. Destruction of some sites may be assigned to an earthquake that occurred between 360 and 374 and correlates with the A.D. 365 seismic sequence known from historical sources. This study covers a wider region and provides a more precise dating of earthquakes than previous studies. Although it focuses on a certain period (4th–3rd centuries B.C., 4th–7th centuries A.D.), it indicates that the period before A.D. 1000 is not a period of seismic quiescence in Sicily as was previously believed, but to a period characterized by strong and destructive earthquakes. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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A Case Study in Archaeoseismology. The Collapses of the Selinunte Temples (Southwestern Sicily): Two Earthquakes Identified

Cited by 39 publications

References 10 publications

Geodetic and geological evidence of active tectonics in south-western Sicily (Italy)

Geodetic and geological evidence of active tectonics in south-western Sicily (Italy)

Archaeoseismology: Methodological issues and procedure

Archaeological evidence for destructive earthquakes in Sicily between 400 B.C. and A.D. 600

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