Bulletin of the Geological Society of Greece, 2017
Tidal notches are a generally accepted sea level indicator that, when different from mean sea lev... more Tidal notches are a generally accepted sea level indicator that, when different from mean sea level, witness tectonic activity at or near coastlines. However, how to infer related information is controversial since tectonic uplift from a single seismic event is not likely to exceed several decimetres. High resolution laser scanning offers the availability of close-up views on exposures and to detect evidence for multiple sea level indicators in between major emergence. Statistically representative profiles along exposure were analysed in order to prove for already described tidal notches and to highlight similar shapes in consistent geometries along coastal cliffs of Perachora Peninsula.
A Roman theater is recently being excavated at Beit-Ras/Capitolias in Jordan, which is one of the... more A Roman theater is recently being excavated at Beit-Ras/Capitolias in Jordan, which is one of the Decapolis cities, founded before A.D. 97/98. This is an archaeoseismological study that aims to investigate the temporal and intensity impacts of past earthquakes on the theater’s existing structure. A rich set of earthquake archaeological effects were identified, including deformed arches, tilted and collapsed walls, chipped corners of masonry blocks, and extensional gaps, indicating a seismic intensity of VIII–IX. The study identified at least two significant destruction phases that took part in the damage of the theater, which may have contributed to the abandonment of its major use as a theater at different periods. This is based on field observations of construction stratigraphy and damage features, the assessment of the observed destruction, and literature reports. The date of the first phase is bracketed between the establishment of the city (before A.D. 97/98) and the date of an...
The Danube Bend is the site of the proposed Nagymaros dam, part of the Gabčikovo–Nagymaros hydrop... more The Danube Bend is the site of the proposed Nagymaros dam, part of the Gabčikovo–Nagymaros hydropower complex in Slovakia and Hungary. The dam was designed in the 1970s to resist intensity VI seismic events. We present historical and archaeological evidence for an intensity IX earthquake on 21 August 1541, which destroyed buildings of the royal town of Visegrád. Evidence includes vertical fissures cutting through the 30-m-high, thirteenth-century donjon Salamon Tower, built on hard rock. Some parts of the adjacent fifteenth-century Franciscan friary, built on the alluvial plain, collapsed because of liquefaction of the subsoil. The date of a potentially responsible earthquake on 21 August 1541 was recorded in a sermon of the eyewitness Lutheran minister Péter Bornemisza, living at Pest-Buda, 35 km away. Taken by the Ottoman army in 1544, the royal town and the fortress lost strategic importance, never to be rebuilt. Photographs and drawings of the donjon made three centuries later f...
Searching for unknown earthquakes in Slovenia in the first millennium, we performed archaeoseismo... more Searching for unknown earthquakes in Slovenia in the first millennium, we performed archaeoseismological analysis of Roman settlements. The Mesto pod mestom museum in Celje exhibits a paved Roman road, which suffered severe deformation. Built on fine gravel and sand from the Savinja River, the road displays a bulge and trench, pop-up structures, and pavement slabs tilted up to 40◦. The city wall was built over the deformed road in Late Roman times, supported by a foundation containing recycled material (spolia) from public buildings, including an emperor’s statue. We hypothesize that a severe earthquake hit the town before 350 AD, causing widespread destruction. Seismic-induced liquefaction caused differential subsidence, deforming the road. One of the nearby faults from the strike-slip Periadriatic fault system was the seismic source of this event.
Theodor Posewitz, a Hungarian medical doctor and geologist (1850–1917) spent five years in the Du... more Theodor Posewitz, a Hungarian medical doctor and geologist (1850–1917) spent five years in the Dutch East Indies between 1880 and 1885, serving the colonial Dutch army. During his service assignments he spent all his free time with geological exploration, ultimately yielding the first geological map and monograph of Borneo. Being a citizen of Hungary, a country without any colonial aspirations, he was able to observe, investigate both nature and people of the region without relying to conventional prejudices of colonial officers. His description of Banjarmasin – published originally in Hungarian – is a prime example of objective, impartial, scientific description of land and people; a valuable source to the geography, public health and social structure of the town back in 1887. A list of scientific publications of Posewitz on the East Indies is added in the Appendix.
A Roman theater is recently being excavated at Beit-Ras/Capitolias in Jordan, which is one of the... more A Roman theater is recently being excavated at Beit-Ras/Capitolias in Jordan, which is one of the Decapolis cities, founded before 97/98 AD. This is an archaeoseismological study that aims to investigate temporal and intensity impacts on the existing structures. A rich set of Earthquake Archaeological Effects (EAEs) are identified, including deformed arches, tilted and collapsed walls, chipped corners of masonry blocks, and extensional gaps indicating a seismic intensity of VIII-IX. Contrary to the long lasting belief that the 749 AD event is the main candidate earthquake damaging most of the Decapolis cities, the study found that at least two major older earthquakes damaged the site and may have led to the abandonment of its major use as a theater at different periods. This is based on field observations of construction stratigraphy and damage features and on the assessment the observed destruction and on reports in literature. The date of the first event is bracketed between the e...
Bulletin of the Geological Society of Greece, 2017
Tidal notches are a generally accepted sea level indicator that, when different from mean sea lev... more Tidal notches are a generally accepted sea level indicator that, when different from mean sea level, witness tectonic activity at or near coastlines. However, how to infer related information is controversial since tectonic uplift from a single seismic event is not likely to exceed several decimetres. High resolution laser scanning offers the availability of close-up views on exposures and to detect evidence for multiple sea level indicators in between major emergence. Statistically representative profiles along exposure were analysed in order to prove for already described tidal notches and to highlight similar shapes in consistent geometries along coastal cliffs of Perachora Peninsula.
A Roman theater is recently being excavated at Beit-Ras/Capitolias in Jordan, which is one of the... more A Roman theater is recently being excavated at Beit-Ras/Capitolias in Jordan, which is one of the Decapolis cities, founded before A.D. 97/98. This is an archaeoseismological study that aims to investigate the temporal and intensity impacts of past earthquakes on the theater’s existing structure. A rich set of earthquake archaeological effects were identified, including deformed arches, tilted and collapsed walls, chipped corners of masonry blocks, and extensional gaps, indicating a seismic intensity of VIII–IX. The study identified at least two significant destruction phases that took part in the damage of the theater, which may have contributed to the abandonment of its major use as a theater at different periods. This is based on field observations of construction stratigraphy and damage features, the assessment of the observed destruction, and literature reports. The date of the first phase is bracketed between the establishment of the city (before A.D. 97/98) and the date of an...
The Danube Bend is the site of the proposed Nagymaros dam, part of the Gabčikovo–Nagymaros hydrop... more The Danube Bend is the site of the proposed Nagymaros dam, part of the Gabčikovo–Nagymaros hydropower complex in Slovakia and Hungary. The dam was designed in the 1970s to resist intensity VI seismic events. We present historical and archaeological evidence for an intensity IX earthquake on 21 August 1541, which destroyed buildings of the royal town of Visegrád. Evidence includes vertical fissures cutting through the 30-m-high, thirteenth-century donjon Salamon Tower, built on hard rock. Some parts of the adjacent fifteenth-century Franciscan friary, built on the alluvial plain, collapsed because of liquefaction of the subsoil. The date of a potentially responsible earthquake on 21 August 1541 was recorded in a sermon of the eyewitness Lutheran minister Péter Bornemisza, living at Pest-Buda, 35 km away. Taken by the Ottoman army in 1544, the royal town and the fortress lost strategic importance, never to be rebuilt. Photographs and drawings of the donjon made three centuries later f...
Searching for unknown earthquakes in Slovenia in the first millennium, we performed archaeoseismo... more Searching for unknown earthquakes in Slovenia in the first millennium, we performed archaeoseismological analysis of Roman settlements. The Mesto pod mestom museum in Celje exhibits a paved Roman road, which suffered severe deformation. Built on fine gravel and sand from the Savinja River, the road displays a bulge and trench, pop-up structures, and pavement slabs tilted up to 40◦. The city wall was built over the deformed road in Late Roman times, supported by a foundation containing recycled material (spolia) from public buildings, including an emperor’s statue. We hypothesize that a severe earthquake hit the town before 350 AD, causing widespread destruction. Seismic-induced liquefaction caused differential subsidence, deforming the road. One of the nearby faults from the strike-slip Periadriatic fault system was the seismic source of this event.
Theodor Posewitz, a Hungarian medical doctor and geologist (1850–1917) spent five years in the Du... more Theodor Posewitz, a Hungarian medical doctor and geologist (1850–1917) spent five years in the Dutch East Indies between 1880 and 1885, serving the colonial Dutch army. During his service assignments he spent all his free time with geological exploration, ultimately yielding the first geological map and monograph of Borneo. Being a citizen of Hungary, a country without any colonial aspirations, he was able to observe, investigate both nature and people of the region without relying to conventional prejudices of colonial officers. His description of Banjarmasin – published originally in Hungarian – is a prime example of objective, impartial, scientific description of land and people; a valuable source to the geography, public health and social structure of the town back in 1887. A list of scientific publications of Posewitz on the East Indies is added in the Appendix.
A Roman theater is recently being excavated at Beit-Ras/Capitolias in Jordan, which is one of the... more A Roman theater is recently being excavated at Beit-Ras/Capitolias in Jordan, which is one of the Decapolis cities, founded before 97/98 AD. This is an archaeoseismological study that aims to investigate temporal and intensity impacts on the existing structures. A rich set of Earthquake Archaeological Effects (EAEs) are identified, including deformed arches, tilted and collapsed walls, chipped corners of masonry blocks, and extensional gaps indicating a seismic intensity of VIII-IX. Contrary to the long lasting belief that the 749 AD event is the main candidate earthquake damaging most of the Decapolis cities, the study found that at least two major older earthquakes damaged the site and may have led to the abandonment of its major use as a theater at different periods. This is based on field observations of construction stratigraphy and damage features and on the assessment the observed destruction and on reports in literature. The date of the first event is bracketed between the e...
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We hypothesize that a severe earthquake hit the town before 350 AD, causing widespread destruction. Seismic-induced liquefaction caused differential subsidence, deforming the road. One of the nearby faults from the strike-slip Periadriatic fault system was the seismic source of this event.
We hypothesize that a severe earthquake hit the town before 350 AD, causing widespread destruction. Seismic-induced liquefaction caused differential subsidence, deforming the road. One of the nearby faults from the strike-slip Periadriatic fault system was the seismic source of this event.