Medieval Archaeology and Natural Disasters

Forlin, Paolo; Gerrard, Christopher; Brown, Peter J.

doi:10.4324/9781003023449-22

Cited by 1 publication

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“…The collapse of buildings and the fires which ensued would have been all the more hazardous because of the density of domestic housing and restricted access down steep slopes. The absence of victims may perhaps be due to rescue efforts [ 56 ] but it also seems possible that severe foreshocks anticipating the final destructive main shock provided an opportunity for the villagers to leave. Whatever the case, the whole inhabited area was affected, not just individual buildings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recovering a lost seismic disaster. The destruction of El Castillejo and the discovery of the earliest historic earthquake affecting the Granada region (Spain)

Forlin,

Reicherter,

Gerrard

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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This paper discusses recent archaeological fieldwork conducted at El Castillejo, a medieval Islamic settlement in Los Guájares, Granada, southern Spain. Results from combined archaeological excavation and archaeoseismological assessment of standing structures suggest that the site was affected by a destructive earthquake during its occupation. Radiocarbon samples and OSL analysis point to a seismic event in the period CE 1224–1266. The earthquake occurred within an area marked by a ‘seismological gap’ in terms of historic seismicity and the causative fault has been tentatively identified in the Nigüelas-Padul Fault System which lies north of the settlement. This event is not recorded by national or European seismic catalogues and represents the oldest historic earthquake in the Granada area. Our work stresses the significant impact that targeted archaeological investigations can generate in our understanding of the local historic seismicity, thus providing clear implications for seismic disaster prevention and reduction.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%