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Recognition of Earthquake-Induced Damage in the Abakainon Necropolis (NE Sicily): Results From Geomorphological, Geophysical and Numerical Analyses

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Abstract

Seismotectonic activity and slope instability are a permanent threat in the archaeological site of Abakainon and in the nearby village of Tripi in NE Sicily. In recent times, signs of an ancient earthquake have been identified in the necropolis of Abakainon which dating was ascertained to the first century AD earthquake. The site is located on a slope of Peloritani Mts. along the Tindari Fault Line and contains evidence for earthquake-induced landslide, including fallen columns and blocks, horizontal shift and counter slope tilting of the tomb basements. In this paper, we used an integrated geomorphological and geophysical analysis to constrain the landslide. The research was directed to the acquisition of deep geological data for the reconstruction of slope process and the thickness of mobilized materials. The applied geophysical techniques included seismic refraction tomography and electrical resistivity tomography. The surveys were performed to delineate the sliding surface and to assess approximately the thickness of mobilized materials. The geophysical and geomorphologic data confirmed the presence of different overlapped landslides in the studied area. Moreover, a numerical simulation of the slope under seismic loads supports the hypothesis of a mobilization of the landslide mass in case of strong earthquakes (PGA > 0.3 g). However, numerical results highlight that the main cause of destruction for the Abakainon necropolis is the amplification of the seismic waves, occasionally accompanied by surficial sliding.

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Acknowledgements

This research was financed by an internal project INGV—Struttura Ambiente. The authors wish to thank Dr. G. Tigano (Superintendence of the Archaeological Heritage of Messina) that allowed us to get into the archaeological site in order to perform the investigations. We are also grateful to Tripi Municipality for helpful assistance during the investigations by closing the street to the traffic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Rome, Italy

    C. Bottari, M. Albano, A. D’Alessandro, F. Doumaz, M. Moro & M. Saroli

  2. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e del Mare (DiSTeM), Università degli Studi di Palermo, Palermo, Italy

    P. Capizzi & R. Martorana

  3. Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile e Meccanica (DICeM), Università degli Studi di Cassino e del Lazio meridionale, Cassino, Italy

    M. Saroli

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  1. C. Bottari
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Correspondence to C. Bottari.

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Bottari, C., Albano, M., Capizzi, P. et al. Recognition of Earthquake-Induced Damage in the Abakainon Necropolis (NE Sicily): Results From Geomorphological, Geophysical and Numerical Analyses. Pure Appl. Geophys. 175, 133–148 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-017-1653-4

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