350 Complutum earthquake
  Location within Spain | |
| Local date |
|
|---|---|
| Magnitude |
|
| Epicenter | 40°25′N 3°28′W / 40.42°N 3.46°W |
| Fault | Henares Valley Fault Zone |
Around the 4th century CE, there was an earthquake in Complutum (nowadays Alcalá de Henares) in Roman Hispania. The earthquake was located in the Tagus Basin, with an assumed magnitude of Mw 5.0–6.6. This earthquake subsequently led to the destruction and abandonment of Complutum.[1] The earthquake had an estimated maximum intensity of IX on the ESI-07 scale.[1]
Geology
Alcalá de Henares is located within the Henares Valley Fault Zone (NE–SW) on the Tagus Basin, with rivers such as Jarama, Henares and Manzanares flowing through the Madrid Metropolitan Region. It does not see strong earthquakes with a slow average slip-rate of 1mm/yr but contains other fault lines such as the Albalate-Perzuera Fault Line,[2] Jarama Valley Fault[3] and Henares Fault Zone.
Past earthquakes in the Basin include those in 1922, 1954, 1982 and 2007.[4]
Complutum is located within Haplic Calcisols, a type of soil containing limes within alluvial disposals, meaning soil around it is soft enough to amplify and cause liquefaction. This is mainly due to the Henares River flowing through Complutum, enriching the soil with clay-like soils.[5]
Evidence
Researchers from CSIC/IGME had researched the geological structures in La Magdalena archeological site, with signs of liquefaction. The earthquake also left extensive evidence of anomalies such as notable ground disruptions, sand ejections, gravel injections and metre-size open craters, affecting Roman industrial buildings and tombs.
The earthquake was estimated to have a magnitude of 5.0 – 6.6 due to the minimum empirical limit of seismically-induced liquefaction and a maximum surface-rupture from the Henares Valley Fault Zone.[1]
Archeological evidence also pinpoints to various desertions from towns linking to EAE's from the earthquake.[6]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 Rodríguez Pascua, Miguel Ángel; Silva, Pablo Gabriel; Perucha, María de los Ángeles; Giner Robles, Jorge Luis; Heras, C.; Bastida, A. B.; Carrasco, P.; Roquero García-Casal, Elvira; Bardají, Teresa; Pérez López, Raúl; Elez, J.; Lario Gómez, Javier (2016). "Estructuras de licuefacción sísmica en el yacimiento romano de La Magdalena, Complutum s. IV AD (Madrid, España)" [Seismic liquefaction structures in the archaeological site of La Magdalena, ancient Roman city of Complutum 4th century AD (Madrid, Spain)]. Geotemas (16): 625–628. hdl:20.500.14468/13159.
- ↑ Sanz De Galdeano, Carlos; Azañón, José Miguel; Cabral, João; Ruano, Patricia; Alfaro, Pedro; Canora, Carolina; Ferrater, Marta; García Tortosa, Francisco Juan; García-Mayordomo, Julián; Gràcia, Eulàlia; Insua-Arévalo, Juan Miguel; Jiménez Bonilla, Alejandro; Lacan, Pierre Gilles; Marín-Lechado, Carlos; Martín-Banda, Raquel; Martín González, Fidel; Martínez-Díaz, José J.; Martín-Rojas, Iván; Masana, Eulàlia; Ortuño, María; Pedrera, Antonio; Perea, Héctor; Simón, José Luis (2020). "Active Faults in Iberia". The Geology of Iberia: A Geodynamic Approach. Regional Geology Reviews. pp. 33–75. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-10931-8_4. hdl:10261/188380. ISBN 978-3-030-10930-1.
- ↑ de Vicente, G.; Muñoz-Martín, A. (August 2013). "The Madrid Basin and the Central System: A tectonostratigraphic analysis from 2D seismic lines". Tectonophysics. 602: 259–285. Bibcode:2013Tectp.602..259D. doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2012.04.003.
- ↑ Carreno, E.; Benito, B.; Solares, J. M. M.; Cabanas, L.; Giner, J.; Murphy, P.; Lopez, C.; Del Fresno, C.; Alcalde, J. M.; Gaspar-Escribano, J. M.; Anton, R.; Martinez-Diaz, J.; Cesca, S.; Izquierdo, A.; Cabanero, J. G. S.; Exposito, P. (November 2008). "The 7 June 2007 mbLg 4.2 Escopete Earthquake: An Event with Significant Ground Motion in a Stable Zone (Central Iberian Peninsula)". Seismological Research Letters. 79 (6): 820–829. Bibcode:2008SeiRL..79..820C. doi:10.1785/gssrl.79.6.820.
- ↑ García Rodríguez, Pilar; Álvarez García, Beatriz (8 March 2017). "Urban planning and archeological conscience: The impact of soil sealing on archaeological sites". Spanish Journal of Soil Science. 7 2297. Bibcode:2017SpJSS...7.2297G. doi:10.3232/SJSS.2017.V7.N1.02.
- ↑ Rodríguez-Pascua, M.A.; Silva, P.G.; Perucha, M.A.; Giner-Robles, J.L.; Heras, C.; Bastida, A.B.; Carrasco, P.; Roquero, E.; Lario, J.; Bardaji, T.; Pérez-López, R.; Elez, J. (October 2016). "Seismically induced liquefaction structures in La Magdalena archaeological site, the 4th century AD Roman Complutum (Madrid, Spain)". Sedimentary Geology. 344: 34–46. Bibcode:2016SedG..344...34R. doi:10.1016/j.sedgeo.2016.01.025.
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