Living with earthquakes along the silk road

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Abstract

Earthquakes are among the most horrible events of nature due to unexpected occurrence, for which no spiritual means are available for protection. The only way of preserving life and property is to prepare for the inevitable: applying earthquake-resistant construction methods. Zones of damaging earthquakes along the Silk Road are reviewed for seismic hazard and to understand the ways local civilizations coped with it during the past two thousand years. China and its wide sphere of cultural influence certainly had earthquake-resistant architectural practice, as the high number of ancient buildings, especially high pagodas, prove. A brief review of anti-seismic design and construction methods (applied both for wooden and masonry buildings) is given, in the context of earthquake-prone zones of Northern China. Muslim architects inWestern China and CentralAsia used brick and mortar to construct earthquake-resistant structural systems. Ancient Greek architects in Anatolia and the Aegean applied steel clamps embedded in lead casing to hold together columns and masonry walls during frequent earthquakes. Romans invented concrete and built all sizes of buildings as a single, non-flexible unit. Masonry, surrounding and decorating the concrete core of the wall, did not bear load. Concrete resisted minor shaking, yielding only to forces higher than fracture limits. Roman building traditions survived the Dark Ages, and 12th century Crusader castles erected in earthquake-prone Syria survive until today in reasonably good condition. Usage of earthquake-resistant technology depends on the perception of earthquake risks and on available financial resources. Earthquake-resistant construction practice is significantly more expensive than regular construction. Frequent earthquakes maintain safe construction practices, like the timber-laced masonry tradition in the Eastern Mediterranean throughout 500 years of political and technological development.

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APA

Kázmér, M. (2019). Living with earthquakes along the silk road. In Socio-Environmental Dynamics Along the Historical Silk Road (pp. 153–176). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00728-7_7

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