Distinguishing damages from two earthquakes—Archaeoseismology of a Crusader castle (Al-Marqab citadel, Syria)

Kázmér, Miklós; Major, Balázs

doi:10.1130/2010.2471(16)

Cited by 9 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Concerning the archaeoseismicity, Kázmér and Major (2010) found traces of two historical earthquakes on the castle of al-Marqab, based on historical and archaeological evidence. The first one is the large magnitude earthquake of 1202 and the second one is related to an earthquake that happened after 1285.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Great 1822 Aleppo Earthquake: New historical sources and strong ground motion simulation

2022

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The devastating 1822 earthquake is one of the relatively recent events that struck northwestern Syria and the nearby areas of central-southern Turkey, at the junction of the Dead Sea fault system with the Eastern Anatolian fault system. This earthquake is re-examined, in this work, based on new original contemporary and near contemporary sources of information not cited in previous litera- ture. Analysis of these sources reveals the following: (1) more detailed descriptions of the earthquake effects are provided for cities of Aleppo, Antakia and Latakia, and the identification of six new loca- tions affected; (2) assessment of relevant earthquake parameters such as the epicenter, surface-wave, moment magnitudes and seismic intensity; (3) documentation of evidences of a seismic sea wave that occurred between the Cypriot and the Syrian coasts and (4) identification of the Saint Simeon fault, located to west of Aleppo, as the probable causative fault. Furthermore, the ground motion gener- ated by the 1822 earthquake has been simulated using the extended stochastic simulation method. Acceleration time series and damped pseudo acceleration spectra were generated for Aleppo Citadel, where the peak ground acceleration, due to the earthquake, has been estimated at 0.4 g. The results will contribute to updating the seismic hazard setting in the northwestern Syria and central-southern Turkey.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Great 1822 Aleppo Earthquake: New historical sources and strong ground motion simulation

2022

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“…Certain Roman building traditions in Antiquity can be recognized that survived well into the Middle Ages and even later, and were applied very far from the territory of the former Roman Empire. For example, builders of the Crusader castle of al‐Marqab in Syria, built in the late 12th century, applied Roman concrete technology (Kázmér & Major, ). Up to the 18th century at least, Spanish military engineers used the very same technology when constructing fortifications for military outposts in the Philippines (Cabigas, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Archaeological Evidence for Modern Coastal Uplift at Diu, Saurashtra Peninsula, India

et al. 2016

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There is a tank hewn into coastal Pleistocene limestone near Diu city on the Saurashtra Peninsula of western India. Site survey and a review of similar structures worldwide provide evidence that this tank could have been used for holding fish or Murex snails. The approximately 5 × 5 m tank is connected to the sea by a 1‐m‐deep canal; today it would be impossible to use the tank, given that not even the high spring tides can fill it. It is suggested that the Diu coast was uplifted by ∼0.5 m after the tank was hewn in the coastal platform. Since that time, the carved surfaces have been modified by coastal karst dissolution and have developed deep gouge marks. Uplift of the Diu coast raises the possibility of a major seismic event in Diu during the latter part of the last millennium.

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“…A very common EAE that affect the cultural heritage during earthquakes is the deformation, and eventual collapse, of vaults [50]. For example, the 2011 Lorca earthquake (Spain) generated a horizontal fracture with a 10-15 cm long displacement in the cross vault of the San Francisco Church coinciding with the direction of the arrival of surface seismic waves [49].…”

Section: Deformed and Displaced Vaults (Ddv)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cyclic shear movements generated by earthquakes in walls that are parallel to the direction of ground motion can generate conjugate fractures (X-fractures), which are a very common seismic effect in buildings deformed by earthquakes [43,44,50,53]. In Medina Azahara, most walls are masonry walls made up with blocks of carbonate sandstone (calcarenites) with different weathering degree that makes it very difficult to discern whether fractures were generated by an earthquake, or they were inherited from the original rock.…”

Section: Conjugated Fractures In Brick-made Walls (Xfw)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Archaeoseismological Evidence of Seismic Damage at Medina Azahara (Córdoba, Spain) from the Early 11th Century

et al. 2023

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The “Caliphal City of Medina Azahara” was built in 936–937 CE or 940–941 CE (depending on the source) by the first Caliph of al-Andalus Abd al-Rahman III, being recently inscribed (2018) on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The abandonment and destruction of the city have been traditionally related to the civil war (“fitna”) that started between 1009 and 1010 CE. However, we cannot rule out other causes for the rapid depopulation and plundering of the city just a few decades after its foundation. The archaeoseismological study provides the first clues on the possible role played by an earthquake in the sudden abandonment and ruin of the city. Eleven different types of Earthquake Archaeological Effects (EAEs) have been identified, such as dropped key stones in arches, tilted walls, conjugated fractures in brick-made walls, conjugated fractures and folds in regular pavements and dipping broken corners in columns, among others. Besides that, 163 structural measures on EAEs were surveyed resulting in a mean ground movement direction of N140°–160° E. This geological structural analysis clearly indicates a building-oriented damage, which can be reasonably attributed to an earthquake that devastated Medina Azahara during the 11st or 12th centuries CE. If this were the case, two strong earthquakes (≥VIII MSK/EMS) occurred in 1024–1025 CE and 1169–1170 CE could be the suspected causative events of the damage and destruction of the city.

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Distinguishing damages from two earthquakes—Archaeoseismology of a Crusader castle (Al-Marqab citadel, Syria)

Abstract: ABSTRACT

Cited by 9 publications

References 34 publications

The Great 1822 Aleppo Earthquake: New historical sources and strong ground motion simulation

The Great 1822 Aleppo Earthquake: New historical sources and strong ground motion simulation

Archaeological Evidence for Modern Coastal Uplift at Diu, Saurashtra Peninsula, India

Archaeoseismological Evidence of Seismic Damage at Medina Azahara (Córdoba, Spain) from the Early 11th Century

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