Archaeological sites (Tell and Road) offset by the Dead Sea Fault in the Amik Basin, Southern Turkey

Abstract

The northern end of the Dead Sea Fault (DSF) in the Amik Basin (Southern Turkey) is investigated using palaeoseismology, archaeoseismology and geophysical prospecting to understand the fault activity during the Holocene. Archaeological sites are largely spread in the area and the fault crosses at least two of them: the ∼5000 BC Tell Si{dotless}çantarla and ∼2000 BC ancient road. Detailed field investigations and geophysical surveys of the tell, an ancient road and a Roman wall reveal 42.4 ± 1.5, 25 ± 3.5 and 9 ± 0.5 m cumulative left-lateral movement along the fault and yield an average 6.07 mm yr-1 slip rate. In addition, palaeoseismic trenching across the fault supports both the exact location of the fault that cut tell and ancient road and recent faulting events related with the 1408 and 1872 large historical earthquakes. This work shows the value of faulted archaeological sites that document past earthquakes and may contribute to a better seismic hazard assessment along the northern DSF. © 2009 The Authors Journal compilation © 2009 RAS.