Identifying archaeological evidence of past earthquakes in a contemporary disaster scenario: case studies of damage, resilience and risk reduction from the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake and past seismic events within the Kathmandu Valley UNESCO World Heritage Property (Nepal)

Abstract

The 2015 Gorkha Earthquake was a humanitarian disaster but also a cultural catastrophe that damaged and destroyed historic monuments across Nepal, including those within the Kathmandu Valley UNESCO World Heritage Property. In the rush to rebuild, traditionally constructed foundations are being removed and replaced with modern materials without assessments of whether these contributed to the collapse of a monument. Generally undertaken without scientific recording, these interventions have led to the irreversible destruction of earlier subsurface phases of cultural activity and the potential loss of evidence for successful traditional seismic adaptations and risk reduction strategies, with no research into whether modern materials, such as concrete and steel, would offer enhanced resilience. In response to this context, multidisciplinary post-disaster investigations were undertaken between 2015 and 2018, including archaeological excavation, geophysical survey, geoarchaeological analysis, linked to architectural and engineering studies, to begin to evaluate and assess the damage to, and seismic adaptations of, historic structures within Nepal's Kathmandu Valley. Where J Seismol

Cultural heritage and earthquakes: bridging the gap between geophysics, archaeoseismology and engineering

“…In the first article, an exhaustive report on archaeoseismology of South Asia, as well as the 2015 Gorkha earthquakes, is illustrated by Davis et al (2020). Multidisciplinary post-disaster investigations are linked to architectural and engineering studies from 2015 to 2018.…”

Geographies of Doing Nothing–Internal Displacement and Practices of Post-Disaster Recovery in Urban Areas of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

“…The overall economic damage was estimated at about US$ 7 billion (Government of Nepal 2016). Nepal has a long history of major earthquake events (Chaulagain et al 2018;Davis et al 2020). This disaster had been long anticipated (UNOCHA 2013).…”

Urban infrastructure, climate change, disaster and risk: lessons from the past for the future

“…The foundation of the sacred building, conceived and laid in the above way, is then sealed with a paved floor after having been consecrated. (1988: 6) There is therefore the potential that these contemporary rites link to earlier practices of 'engineering soils' to provide a degree of liquefaction proofing; certainly there is barely any earthquake damage within the Kasthamandap's foundations (Davis et al 2020).…”