DESTRUCTION OF MEDIEVAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL MONUMENTS BY STRONG EARTHQUAKES IN THE SOUTHWESTERN PART OF ISSYK-KUL BASIN, TIEN SHAN
A.A. Strelnikov, A.M. Korzhenkov
Schmidt Institute of Physics of the Earth, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
Abstract. The destruction of a major archaeological site in VII–IX clearly demonstrates the lack of seismic knowledge of the region and, as a result, the unaccounted for and underestimated seismic hazard assessment in the Alabash-Konuroleng Depression region near the southern border of the Issyk-Kul hollow on the map of the Kyrgyz Republic. The purpose of the field research work was to study the consequences of a seismic event, to identify violations of the integrity of archaeological structures, and to estimate the strength of an earthquake in a given region. To search for archaeological sites, an aerial photograph of the site along the Akterek River was carried out – from the coast to the elevation of the Duvan Mountains. As a result of field studies in the south of the Issyk-Kul Basin – in the Alabash-Konuroleng Depression, an ancient destroyed complex located on the southern slope of the Duvan mountains was discovered. It turned out that this structure, located on a seismotectonic ledge, was destroyed by it and absorbed by a seismotectonic graben. Most likely, during the period of the complex’s existence in the VII–IX centuries (?), a strong (I0 ≥ 9) earthquake occurred. There are other archaeological sites of various ages in the Alabash-Konuroleng Depression, bearing traces of the strongest seismic impacts, the study of which can help extend the seismic catalog for centuries, and also contribute to a more accurate assessment of the seismic hazard of the area of currently rising uplifts – Adyrs (foothills) of the Terskey Ala-Too Range.
Keywords: earthquake, seismotectonic ledges, compensation graben, archeoseismology, paleoseismology, seismic deformations, architectural and historical complex, Tien Shan, Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan, Alabash-Konuroleong depression, mountains of Duvan
About the authors
STRELNIKOV Andrey Andreyevich – Schmidt Institute of Physics of the Earth, Russian Academy of Sciences. Russia, 123242, Moscow, Bolshaya Gruzinskaya st., 10-1. E-mail: aas@ifz.ru
KORZHENKOV Andrey Mikhailovich – Schmidt Institute of Physics of the Earth, Russian Academy of Sciences. Russia, 123242, Moscow, Bolshaya Gruzinskaya st., 10-1. E-mail: korzhenkov@ifz.ru
Cite this article as: Strelnikov A.A., Korzhenkov A.M. Destruction of medieval archaeological monuments by strong earthquakes in the southwestern part of Issyk-Kul Basin, Tien Shan, Voprosy Inzhenernoi Seismologii (Problems of Engineering Seismology). 2020. V. 47, No. 3. P. 53–74. [in Russian]. https://doi.org/10.21455/VIS2020.3-3
English translation of the article will be published in Seismic Instruments, ISSN: 0747-9239 (Print) 1934-7871 (Online), https://link.springer.com/journal/11990