Archeoseismic Study of Damage in Medieval Monuments around New Delhi, India: An Approach to Understanding Paleoseismicity in an Intraplate Region
The seismic shaking observed around Delhi and the surrounding region due to near-field and far-field earthquakes is a matter of concern for the seismic safety of the national capital of India, as well as the historical monuments of the region. Historical seismicity indicates that the Delhi region ha...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-02-01
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| Series: | GeoHazards |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2624-795X/5/1/7 |
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| author | Sambit Prasanajit Naik Klaus Reicherter Miklos Kázmér Jens Skapski Asmita Mohanty Young-Seog Kim |
| author_facet | Sambit Prasanajit Naik Klaus Reicherter Miklos Kázmér Jens Skapski Asmita Mohanty Young-Seog Kim |
| author_sort | Sambit Prasanajit Naik |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The seismic shaking observed around Delhi and the surrounding region due to near-field and far-field earthquakes is a matter of concern for the seismic safety of the national capital of India, as well as the historical monuments of the region. Historical seismicity indicates that the Delhi region has been affected by several damaging earthquakes originating from the Himalayan region as far-field events, as well as due to near-field earthquakes with epicenters close to Delhi. The historical records, along with recent archeoseismological studies, suggest that Qutab Minar, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was damaged by the earthquake of 1803 CE. This event represents the only evidence of seismic damage from the region, as there has been no detailed study of other historical monuments in the area or earthquakes that have caused damage. In this context, the earthquake damage to other monuments might have been overlooked to some extent around the Qutab Minar due to the lack of proper earthquake damage surveys and documentation in historical times. The main goal of this study is to identify evidence of earthquake archeological effects around the Qutab Minar and to shed new light on the occurrence and characteristics of ancient earthquakes while providing data to inform seismic risk assessment programs. With this aim, we describe different earthquake-related damage (EAE, earthquake archeological effects) at the Isa Khan Tomb and Humayun’s Tomb, built between 1548 CE and 1570 CE, respectively, as well as the older Tomb of Iltutmish (built in 1235 CE) along with the Qutab Minar, which was built between 1199 CE and 1220 CE. The damage was probably caused by seismic events with intensities between VIII and IX on the European Macroseismic Scale (EMS). Based on the methodology of paleo ShakeMaps, it is most likely that the 1803 CE earthquake was the causative earthquake for the observed deformation in the Isa Khan Tomb, Tomb of Iltutmish, and Humayun’s Tomb. More detailed regional paleoseismological studies are required to identify the responsible fault. In conclusion, the impressive cultural heritage of Delhi city and the intraplate region is constantly under seismic threats from near-field earthquakes and far-field Himalayan earthquakes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:14:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-49f3dbe22663443a912cad850d081612 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2624-795X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:14:35Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | GeoHazards |
| spelling | doaj.art-49f3dbe22663443a912cad850d0816122024-03-27T13:43:21ZengMDPI AGGeoHazards2624-795X2024-02-015114216510.3390/geohazards5010007Archeoseismic Study of Damage in Medieval Monuments around New Delhi, India: An Approach to Understanding Paleoseismicity in an Intraplate RegionSambit Prasanajit Naik0Klaus Reicherter1Miklos Kázmér2Jens Skapski3Asmita Mohanty4Young-Seog Kim5Active Fault and Earthquake Hazard Mitigation Research Institute, Pukyong National University, Busan 48513, Republic of KoreaLehr- und Forschungsgebiet Neotektonik und Georisiken, RWTH Aachen University, Lochnerstr. 4-20, 52056 Aachen, GermanyDepartment of Palaeontology, Eötvös University, Pazmany Peter Setany 1/c, H-1117 Budapest, HungaryLehr- und Forschungsgebiet Neotektonik und Georisiken, RWTH Aachen University, Lochnerstr. 4-20, 52056 Aachen, GermanyNational Institute of Advanced Studies, Indian Institute of Sciences (IISC), Bengaluru 560012, IndiaDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Pukyong National University, Busan 48513, Republic of KoreaThe seismic shaking observed around Delhi and the surrounding region due to near-field and far-field earthquakes is a matter of concern for the seismic safety of the national capital of India, as well as the historical monuments of the region. Historical seismicity indicates that the Delhi region has been affected by several damaging earthquakes originating from the Himalayan region as far-field events, as well as due to near-field earthquakes with epicenters close to Delhi. The historical records, along with recent archeoseismological studies, suggest that Qutab Minar, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was damaged by the earthquake of 1803 CE. This event represents the only evidence of seismic damage from the region, as there has been no detailed study of other historical monuments in the area or earthquakes that have caused damage. In this context, the earthquake damage to other monuments might have been overlooked to some extent around the Qutab Minar due to the lack of proper earthquake damage surveys and documentation in historical times. The main goal of this study is to identify evidence of earthquake archeological effects around the Qutab Minar and to shed new light on the occurrence and characteristics of ancient earthquakes while providing data to inform seismic risk assessment programs. With this aim, we describe different earthquake-related damage (EAE, earthquake archeological effects) at the Isa Khan Tomb and Humayun’s Tomb, built between 1548 CE and 1570 CE, respectively, as well as the older Tomb of Iltutmish (built in 1235 CE) along with the Qutab Minar, which was built between 1199 CE and 1220 CE. The damage was probably caused by seismic events with intensities between VIII and IX on the European Macroseismic Scale (EMS). Based on the methodology of paleo ShakeMaps, it is most likely that the 1803 CE earthquake was the causative earthquake for the observed deformation in the Isa Khan Tomb, Tomb of Iltutmish, and Humayun’s Tomb. More detailed regional paleoseismological studies are required to identify the responsible fault. In conclusion, the impressive cultural heritage of Delhi city and the intraplate region is constantly under seismic threats from near-field earthquakes and far-field Himalayan earthquakes.https://www.mdpi.com/2624-795X/5/1/7archeoseismologyseismic hazardDelhiintraplate deformationQutab Minar |
| spellingShingle | Sambit Prasanajit Naik Klaus Reicherter Miklos Kázmér Jens Skapski Asmita Mohanty Young-Seog Kim Archeoseismic Study of Damage in Medieval Monuments around New Delhi, India: An Approach to Understanding Paleoseismicity in an Intraplate Region GeoHazards archeoseismology seismic hazard Delhi intraplate deformation Qutab Minar |
| title | Archeoseismic Study of Damage in Medieval Monuments around New Delhi, India: An Approach to Understanding Paleoseismicity in an Intraplate Region |
| title_full | Archeoseismic Study of Damage in Medieval Monuments around New Delhi, India: An Approach to Understanding Paleoseismicity in an Intraplate Region |
| title_fullStr | Archeoseismic Study of Damage in Medieval Monuments around New Delhi, India: An Approach to Understanding Paleoseismicity in an Intraplate Region |
| title_full_unstemmed | Archeoseismic Study of Damage in Medieval Monuments around New Delhi, India: An Approach to Understanding Paleoseismicity in an Intraplate Region |
| title_short | Archeoseismic Study of Damage in Medieval Monuments around New Delhi, India: An Approach to Understanding Paleoseismicity in an Intraplate Region |
| title_sort | archeoseismic study of damage in medieval monuments around new delhi india an approach to understanding paleoseismicity in an intraplate region |
| topic | archeoseismology seismic hazard Delhi intraplate deformation Qutab Minar |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2624-795X/5/1/7 |
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