Geological and archaeological evidence for post-Roman earthquake surface faulting at Cibyra, SW Turkey

The NE-SW-trending Burdur-Fethiye fault zone is one of the major active fau lt zones of southwestern Turkey and the ancient city of Cibyra is located o n this zone. Segments of the Burdur-Fethiye fault zone have ruptured in the historical period and during the 20th century. A detailed investigation in the ancient city of Cibyra showed the presence of faults sinistrally offse t sitting rows of the stadium up to 50 cm. In addition, there are broken co rners of blocks, collapsed walls, broken columns, and tilted and toppled bl ocks in existing major buildings in the city centre. Field observations sho wed that fractures and associated damage at Cibyra were produced by a post- Roman earthquake, possibly during the 417-A.D.-earthquake which had an inte nsity of 9 on the MSK scale. (C) 2001 Editions scientifiques et medicales E lsevier SAS.