Archaeoseismology is the study of past

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

s deriving from the analysis of

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...

s. Such analyses reveal information about seismic events that have not been historically recorded. Such

data In the pursuit of knowledge, data (; ) is a collection of discrete values that convey information, describing quantity, quality, fact, statistics, other basic units of meaning, or simply sequences of symbols that may be further interpreted ...

can also help to document

seismic risk Seismic risk refers to the risk of damage from earthquake to a building, system, or other entity. Seismic risk has been defined, for most management purposes, as the potential economic, social and environmental consequences of hazardous events th ...

in areas subject to extremely destructive earthquakes. In 1991, an international conference held in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

marked the beginning of modern research in the field of archaeoseismology, described as a "study of ancient earthquakes, and their

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

cultural Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

and

natural Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...

effects".

The main idea

Earthquakes that happened during the far past hide a particularly important information for a regional seismic risk assessment. We have quantitative data concerning past earthquakes only from the beginning of the 20 century (as the invention of the

seismograph A seismometer is an instrument that responds to ground noises and shaking such as caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and explosions. They are usually combined with a timing device and a recording device to form a seismograph. The output ...

is from the very late 19 century), but humanity is forced to deal with earthquakes since the very beginning of its time. So, we have an extremely limited information to deal with a reliable seismic risk. As a result, a methodology for reconstruction of historical earthquakes was held during the 20 century, but it has brought a very partial results, especially for archaic earthquakes. Then, it became clear, that research in archaeological sites are needed in aim to identify damages or destructions that are Attributable to ancient earthquakes.

Archeological record

The

archaeological record The archaeological record is the body of physical (not written) evidence about the past. It is one of the core concepts in archaeology, the academic discipline concerned with documenting and interpreting the archaeological record. Archaeological th ...

can carry three different types of evidence of seismic activity: * The

archaeological remains An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and ...

are displaced due to the movement of an active fault. * The remains and artefacts contained in destruction deposits, associated with the decline of soil or seismic vibration, can be used the dating of earthquake damage. Other archaeological evidence, such as repairs, abandonment of an archaeological site or

architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings o ...

changes, can help in identifying ancient earthquakes. * Αncient

building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and fun ...

s and other man-made structures can be studied for signs of ancient seismic disaster, often associated with

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...

vibration.

Notable Events

* A key example of earthquake in history is the

226 BC Rhodes earthquake The Rhodes earthquake of 226 BC, which affected the island of Rhodes, Greece, is famous for having toppled the large statue known as the Colossus of Rhodes. Following the earthquake, the statue lay in place for nearly eight centuries before being ...

which toppled one the seven wonders of the world at the time, The Colossus of Rhodes. It is also noted that damage to the city and harbor were evident. The Greek historian

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

discussed the collapse of the colossus in the

1st century BC The 1st century BC, also known as the last century BC and the last century BCE, started on the first day of 100 BC and ended on the last day of 1 BC. The AD/BC notation does not use a year zero; however, astronomical year numberi ...

. * A more studied example is The Great Chilean Earthquake of 1960 which was the most powerful earthquake in recorded history at 9.6 on the

moment magnitude scale The moment magnitude scale (MMS; denoted explicitly with or Mw, and generally implied with use of a single M for magnitude) is a measure of an earthquake's magnitude ("size" or strength) based on its seismic moment. It was defined in a 1979 pape ...

. * The first recorded earthquake was the

Mount Tai earthquake The Mount Tai earthquake ( zh, 泰山震) was the first recorded earthquake in history. It occurred at Mount Tai, in present-day Shandong province, China, during the seventh year of the reign of King Fa of the Xia dynasty The Xia dynasty ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

in 1831 BC.

References

External links

* * Archaeological sub-disciplines {{earthquake-stub

The main idea

Archeological record

Notable Events

See also

References

External links