Palaeoseismology and archeoseismology along the Dead Sea fault in Syria: Earthquake faulting and potential for a completed historical seismicity catalogue
by
Mustapha Meghraoui
IPG Strasbourg, EOST-UMR 7516
Coauthors: Francisco Gomez (INSTOC, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA), Reda Sbeinati (Dept. of Geology, Atomic Energy Commission, Damascus, Syria), Ryad Darawcheh (Dept. of Geology, Atomic Energy Commission, Syria), Michel Mouty (Dept. of Remote Sensing, Higher Inst. for Applied Science and Technology, Damascus, Syria), Abdul Nasser Darkal (Dept. of Geology, Damascus University, Syria)

Although the present day seismicity is low, there are numerous evidences of earthquake damage along the Dead Sea fault in Syria. We present results of recent field investigations that consist on quantitative geomorphology and trenching across the Missyaf segment south of the Ghab pull-apart basin. In addition, 10 archaeological sites (Saint Simeon, Kherbet Maez, Apamea, Missyaf-El Hereif, Crak de Chevaliers, and Bourkush) located along the fault show faulted aqueduct, horizontal shifting of building stones, faulted and cracked walls and bedrocks, tilting and waving of walls, and directed fallen elements of buildings. The damage evaluation is made according to the EMS-92 scale. Combining archaeoseismology and palaeoseismolgoy at El Hereif site provide a better constraints of the timing of large historical and pre-historical earthquakes and indicate the occurrence of 3 seismic events in the last 2400 years including the 1170 AD large event. At Saint Simeon (Qalaat Samaan), a large earthquake in 526 AD induced waved walls turned columns and oblique fractures in large size blocks of limestones. In Apamea falling columns in a single direction and horizontal shifting of stones are correlated with faulted paleosols and uplifted Holocene lake deposits along the Dead Sea fault. Historical documents of the 9th ? 13th centuries provide a rich account of damage due to the large earthquakes sequence of 1157, 1170 and 1202. The occurrence of this historical sequence, and the existence of ~ 800 years seismic quiescence implies a high level of seismic hazard along the Dead Sea fault in Syria and Lebanon.

Date received: March 11, 2002