Traces of Strong Earthquakes in Ruins of the Afrasiab Archeological Site (Samarkand, Uzbekistan)

Abstract

We revealed traces of two earthquakes of the 10th and 12th centuries at six objects of the Afrasiab archaeological site. These traces include numerous ruptures and fractures that form a “flower” structure, a subsided graben, and the slopes and turns of fragments of fortress walls. The type of the deformation indicates that the epicenter of the earthquake of the 10th century was located to the west-southwest of the ancient city; the epicenter of the earthquake of the 12th century was to the south-southwest of it. The intensity of both events was VIII–IX points on the MSK-64 scale.