Defining the causes of ancient building collapse (structural decaying vs. seismic shaking) in archaeological deposits of central Italy

Deposits that result from the collapse of buildings are usual in geoarchaeological records. Deposition can result from natural processes
or can be induced by human actions. The investigations at archaeological sites (in particular of the Roman Imperial Age) in central
Italy indicate that the analysis of the sedimentological-stratigraphic characteristics of collapse layers allows hypotheses as to the origin
of a deposit. In the case of layers formed by building decay or seismic destruction, the stratigraphic analysis defines substantial
differences that are indicative of different origins. Indeed, the stratigraphy of collapse deposits due to building decay is made up of
fine-to-coarse grained layers, due to the slow accumulation of materials, which are capped by huge fragments of buildings following
the final collapse of the structure. For seismic destruction, large fragments of walls or entire pillars and columns, plus the coarse-grained
ruins, usually lie over floors and pavements without interposed layers of abandonment. The characterisation of a collapse deposit
has implications in archaeoseismological research, i.e. the identification of traces of past earthquakes during archaeological excavations
or through the analysis of the archaeological monumental heritage.

AMATO A., AZZARA R., CHIARABBA C., CIMINI G.B., COCCO
M., DI BONA M., MARGHERITI L., MAZZA S., MELE F.,
SELVAGGI G., BASILI A., BOSCHI E., COURBOULEX F.,
DESCHAMPS A., GAFFET S., BITTARELLI G., CHIARALUCE
L., PICCININI D., RIPEPE M. 1998 - The 1997
Umbria–Marche, Italy, earthquake sequence: a
first look at the main shocks and aftershocks.
Geophysical Research Letters 25, 2861–2864.
BAKUN W.H., WENTWORTH C.M., 1997 - Estimating earthquake
location and magnitude from seismic intensity
data. Bull. of the Seismol. Soc. Am., 87, 1502-
1521.
BAKUN W.H., WENTWORTH C.M., 1999 - Erratum to estimating
earthquake location and magnitude from
seismic intensity data. Bull. of the Seismol. Soc.
Am., 89, 557.
BORGHESI H., 2007 - La centuriation. In: A. Campanelli
(Ed.), La Petite Rome des Abruzzes, 50 années de
recherches belgo-italiennes à Alba Fucens.
Catalogue of the exhibition at the Musées Royaux
d’Art et d’Histoire de Bruxelles, Sulmona, 89-92.
BORGHESI H., CECCARONI E., D’ANTUONO N., GALADINI F.,
VILLA D., 2007 - La villa rustica au lieu-dit
Macerine. In: A. Campanelli (Ed.), La Petite Rome
des Abruzzes, 50 années de recherches belgoitaliennes
à Alba Fucens. Catalogue of the exhibition
at the Musées Royaux d’Art et d’Histoire de
Bruxelles, Sulmona, 93-97.
BOSCHI E., FERRARI G., GASPERINI P., GUIDOBONI E.,
SMRIGLIO G., VALENSISE G., 1995 - Catalogo dei
forti terremoti in Italia dal 461 a.C. al 1980. Istituto
Nazionale di Geofisica, SGA storia geofisica
ambiente, Bologna, 973 pp.
CANTINI F., 2005 - Il medioevo in Toscana. San Genesio
di Vico Uualari. Archeologia Viva, 113, 66-68 (in
Italian).
CARANDINI A., 2000 - Storie dalla terra. Torino: Einaudi
editore, 307 pp. (in Italian).
CECCARONI E., AMERI G., GÓMEZ CAPERA A.A., GALADINI F.,
(2009) - The 2nd century AD earthquake in central
Italy: archaeeoseismological data and seismotectonic
implications. Natural Hazards.
COARELLI F., LA REGINA A., 1993 - Abruzzo, Molise.
Roma-Bari, 346 pp.
DI NIRO A., 1991 - Larinum. In: S. Capini & A. Di Niro
(Eds.), Samnium, Archeologia del Molise, Roma,
263-267.
FALCUCCI E., AGOSTINI S., GALADINI F., 2007 -
Inquadramento geologico della zona di Castel di
Ieri. In: A. Campanelli (Ed.), Il Tempio di Castel di
Ieri, Sulmona, 23-30.
FOGAGNOLO S., 2006 - Lo scavo del Templum Pacis:
concordanze e novità rispetto alla Forma Urbis. In:
R. Meneghini & R. Santangeli Valenzani (Eds.),
Forma Urbis Romae, nuovi frammenti di piante marmoree dallo scavo dei fori imperiali. Bullettino
della Commissione Archeologica Comunale di
Roma, Supplementi, 15, 55-60.
GALADINI F., 2007 - Les manifestations du tremblement
de terre de l’Antiquité tardive. In: A. Campanelli
(Ed.), La Petite Rome des Abruzzes, 50 années de
recherches belgo-italiennes à Alba Fucens.
Catalogue of the exhibition at the Musées Royaux
d’Art et d’Histoire de Bruxelles, Sulmona, 75-81.
GALADINI F., GALLI P., 1999 - The Holocene paleoearthquakes
on the 1915 Avezzano earthquake faults
(central Italy): implications for active tectonics in
the central Apennines. Tectonophysics, 308, 143-
170.
GALADINI F., GALLI P., 2001 - Archaeoseismology in Italy:
case studies and implications on long-term seismicity.
Journal of Earthquake Engineering, 5, 35-
68.
GALADINI F., GALLI P., 2004 - The 346 A.D. earthquake
(Central-Southern Italy): an archaeoseismological
approach. Annals of Geophysics, 47, 885-905.
GALADINI F., HINZEN K.-G., STIROS, S., 2006 -
Archaeoseismology: methodological issues and
procedure. Journal of Seismology, 10, 395-414.
GASPERETTI G., 1999 - Il teatro di Teano. Archeo, 15 (4),
18.
GASPERINI P., FERRARI G., 1997 - Stima dei parametri sintetici:
nuove elaborazioni. In: E. Boschi, E.
Guidoboni, G. Ferrari, G. Valensise & P. Gasperini
(Eds.), Catalogo dei forti terremoti in Italia dal 461
a.C. al 1990, 2 (pp. 56-64). Bologna: ING-SGA (in
Italian).
GOLDBERG P., MACPHAIL R.I., 2006 - Practical and theoretical
geoarchaeology. Malden, Oxford, Carlton:
Blackwell Publishing, 455 pp.
GUIDOBONI E., SANTORO BIANCHI S., 1995 - Collapses and
seismic collapses in archaeology: proposal for a
thematic atlas. Annali di Geofisica, 38, 1013-1017.
GUIDOBONI E., MUGGIA A., VALENSISE G., 2000 - Aims and
methods in territorial archaeology: possible clues
to a strong fourth-century AD earthquake in the
Straits of Messina (southern Italy). In W.J.
McGuire, D.R. Griffith, P.L. Hancock & I.S.
Stewart (Eds.), The archaeology of geological
catastrophe (pp. 45-70). London: Geological
Society Spec. Publ. no. 171.
IASIELLO I.M., 2008 - Samnium. Assetti e trasformazioni
di una provincia dell’Italia tardoantica. Bari, 380
pp.
KARCZ I., KAFRI U., 1978 - Evaluation of supposed
archaeoseismic damage in Israel. Journal of
Archaeological Science, 5, 237-253.
LA ROCCA E., RIZZO S., MENEGHINI R., SANTANGELI
VALENZANI R., 2001 - Fori Imperiali. Relazione preliminare
degli scavi eseguiti in occasione del
Giubileo del Duemila. Römische Mittelungen, 108,
171-283.
NUR A., CLINE E.H., 2000 - Poseidon’s horses: plate tectonics
and earthquake storms in the Late Bronze
Age Aegean and eastern Mediterranean. Journal
of Archaeological Science, 27, 43-63.
RAPP JR. G., HILL C.L., 1998 - Geoarchaeology. New
Haven, London: Yale University Press, 274 pp.
SIROVICH L., PETTENATI F., 2001 - Test of Source-
Parameter Inversion of the Intensities of a 54,000-
Death Shock of the Seventeeth Century in
Southeast Sicily. Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am., 91, 792-
811.
SIROVICH L., PETTENATI F., CAVALLINI F., BOBBIO M., 2002 -
Natural-Neighbor Isoseismals. Bull. Seismol. Soc.
Am., 92, 1933-1940.
STUCCHI M., CAMASSI R., ROVIDA A., LOCATI M., ERCOLANI
E., MELETTI C., MIGLIAVACCA P., BERNARDINI F., AZZARO
R., ALBINI P., CASTELLI V., D’AMICO S., GASPERINI
C., GULIA L., LESCHIUTTA I., MERONI F., MIRTO
C., MORONI A., TUVÈ T., 2007 - DBMI04, il database
delle osservazioni macrosismiche dei terremoti italiani
utilizzate per la compilazione del catalogo
parametrico CPTI04. http://emidius.mi.ingv.it/DBMI04/.
Quaderni di Geofisica, 49, 38 pp.
TRIA G.A., 1744 - Memorie storiche, civili ed ecclesiastiche
della città e diocesi di Larino. Roma. Reprint
of 1989, Isernia, 813 pp.
WORKING GROUP CPTI, 2004 - Catalogo Parametrico dei
Terremoti Italiani, versione 2004 (CPTI04). INGV,
Bologna, Italy. http://emidius.mi.ingv.it/CPTI/ (Last
check of the availability: December 2, 2008).