Structural Damage from Earthquakes in the Second–Ninth Centuries at the Archaeological Site of Aila in Aqaba, Jordan

The ancient ruins of the city of Aqaba are located at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba along the seismically active Dead Sea Transform fault in southern Jordan. Detailed archaeological excavation and geologic mapping were conducted along an active fault that cuts through Late Roman/Byzantine to Early I...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Thomas, Ross (Author) ; Parker, S. Thomas (Author) ; Niemi, Tina M. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: The University of Chicago Press 2007
In: Bulletin of ASOR
Year: 2007, Volume: 346, Pages: 59-77
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Summary:The ancient ruins of the city of Aqaba are located at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba along the seismically active Dead Sea Transform fault in southern Jordan. Detailed archaeological excavation and geologic mapping were conducted along an active fault that cuts through Late Roman/Byzantine to Early Islamic deposits at the archaeological site of Aila in Aqaba. In this paper, we describe the stratigraphic evidence for ground-rupturing earthquakes that have affected the site and document the associated collapse, damage, and repair of the architecture in antiquity. These data show that there have been seven earthquakes that have disrupted the archaeological deposits since the second century A.D., based on evidence of faulting. Our data clearly show that historical earthquake catalogs are incomplete with regard to some of the less damaging earthquakes that have affected southern Jordan but may have played a significant role in the cultural history of the region.
ISSN:2161-8062
Contains:Enthalten in: American Schools of Oriental Research, Bulletin of ASOR
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1086/BASOR25067010