SEISMIC RESPONSE OF CLASSICAL MONUMENTS - A NUMERICAL PERSPECTIVE DEVELOPED AT THE TEMPLE OF APOLLO IN BASSAE, GREECE

We report on the initial phase of assessing numerically the seismic vu lnerability of sections of the Temple of Apollo in Bassae, in the W. P eloponnesus, Greece. The site is exposed to large subduction earthquak es and to smaller local extensional events. In this phase the only lin k with the seismotectonic environment is the selection of representati ve recorded accelerograms for numerical analysis. The analysis confirm s the highly non-linear nature of the response of megalithic structure s relying for their stability on the friction and cohesion between the constituent blocks. Intact sections of the Temple showed substantial resistance to strong ground motions due to their capacity to absorb en ergy with large relative movements of the building blocks that do not impair the stability of the structure. However, imperfections typical of the present condition of the monument, namely deterioration of the building stones and of the foundation material, substantially reduce t he stability threshold. Powerful numerical tools are available to assi st rational schemes for the protection of ancient structures and to su bject archaeological hypotheses to numerical tests. This analysis quan tifies the effects of weaknesses of the structure and allows testing t he effectiveness of strengthening procedures. In the archaeological co ntext there is a strong interaction with the ongoing geodynamic proces ses.