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"It's gone full circle," said Niemi. "Finding primary sources is very difficult." As a result, many ruins are assigned to the wrong earthquake. This could mean underestimating the frequency of earthquakes in many places. It has probably also skewed our historical perspective of the scope of damage caused by individual quakes. "Often these earthquakes are taken up by these archaeologists as big catastrophic events" rather than localized disasters, said Sintubin. "There were several attempts [by earlier researchers] to link separate events into a large catastrophe." The first step in setting things straight, say the researchers, is to make sure that a given site was, indeed, affected by an earthquake. Quake damage can leave an undeniable signature: temple columns or monuments fallen in the same direction or skeletons buried under fallen walls, said Niemi. Other clear-cut signs are aqueducts cut off and offset by a fault. Next you have to date the quake. In Petra, coins found in the pockets of buried victims were dated to 361 A.D. Likewise, ruins in Aqaba, Jordan, show walls that were repaired in the early 4th century and coins featuring Roman emperor Constantius II (337-361 A.D.) buried under fallen walls. Finally, archaeologists must accept the possibility that they may uncover evidence of a previously unknown earthquake. "None of the catalogues have all the earthquakes," said Niemi. "They should be viewed as incomplete and dynamic." Related Links: Larry O'Hanlon's blog: Earth Impacts |
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