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Prehistoric Earthquakes and their Consequences,as Preserved in Holocene Sediments

from Volos and Argos, Greece

Eberhard ZanggerDepartment of Earth Sciences, Cambridge University,Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EQ, U.K.

Examination of Holocene deposits in auger cores and construction trenches provides clues for tectonicmovements in prehistory (Zatgger , 1 99 1) . One auger core traverse between Neolithic Dimini and the presentcoast of Volos in Central Greece revealed, firstly, that the sea used to extend c. 2.5 km farther inland extendingalmost to the site of ancient Dimini. Secondly, the Holocene stratigraphy indicated a subsidence of the centralplain of 3. I m due to block tectonic movements. The Gulf of Volos has been notorious for earthquakes at leastduring the last few centuries (Schneider 1968, 72; Papazachos et al. , 1983). Most of these are attributable tooffsets along a major E-W striking normal fault stretching from Volos to Velestinon. Another normal fault,however, runs parallel to the first one on the southern side of the Gulf of Volos from Pevkakia-Magoula toPaliouri (Ferriöre, 1982); this fault was crossed by the auger core traverse shown in Fig. 1. The displacementof Holocene deposits occurred in two steps: the first one resulted in l.'t m subsidence before 3000 BP; thesecond movement of 1.4 m must have occurred c. 1000 years ago (Fig.2). The core stratigraphy provides nohints that would indicate whether these displacements happened suddenly, in which case they would have beenaccompanied by earthquakes, or whether they took place in the form of slow creep which is also known fromGreece (Billiris et al., 1991). Since Volos, however, constifutes one of the most earthquake-prone regions inEurope, these offsets as recorded in the Holocene sediments were most likely accompanied by strongearthquakes in prehistoric and historic times.

In the Argive Plain in southern Greece, earthquake damage has been recognized in archaeologicalexcavations at Mycenae, Tiryns and Midea, but no quakes are reported in historic records. Once again, augercores from the coastal plain provide evidence for active tectonic movement in the form of uplift of the Arcadianmountains on the western side of the Argolid. The main fault extends N-S from Argos to Lerna; its offshorecontinuation has been detected during a marine shallow-seismic survey of the Gulf of Argos (van And el et al . ,

1990). The fault displaced the Pleistocene red beds at the bottom of the stratigraphy as well as a superimposedEarly Bronze Age alluvium (Fig. 3). Movement rates amounted to 2.5 m in 5000 years averaging 0.5 m per1000 years (Finke 1988, 103). This observation was confirmed by a pipeline construction trench, 1.5 km longand 6 m deep. In this exposure, the displacement of the Early Bronze Age alluvium, sandwiched between twolayers of lacustrine deposits from ancient Lake Lerna, turned out to be more complex than recognizable in augercores. The offset, though very pronounced in the schematic core cross sections, is hardty discernible byiustlooking at an outcrop without using instruments. The steep angle of the faults in Figs 1-4 results from 40-50xvertical exaggeration.

Finally, on the opposite side of the Argive Plain, around Tiryns, an unusual ephemeral flood was found inthe Holocene stratigraphy which accumulated up to 5 m of alluvium, especially E of Tiryns. This flood would

245

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Figure 3. Section through Holocene and Pleistocene sediments between Magoula and the sea in the Argive plain. Apleistocene paleosol occurs at the bottom of all cores and at the surface west of the section. On the seaward side of the

profile a paleo-surface (A horizon) is preserved on top of the Pleistocene base. The existence of Lake Lerna is

iepresented by thick and extensive lacustrine deposits. The lake was separated from the open sea by a beach barrier.

Onty timiteO alluviations occurring in the Early Bronze Age were found in this traverse (EH-All.). Paleo-A-horizon

(dark layer on top of EH-All.) indicates landscape stability.

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