Abstract
Significance We demonstrate that a tsunami in the late 14th century CE destroyed coastal sites along a critical part of the maritime Silk Road and set in motion profound changes in the political economy of Southeast Asia. Our results provide a precise chronology of settlement and trade along a historically strategic section of the Sumatran coast and are robust physical evidence for the rise of the Aceh Sultanate. Tragically, coastal areas impacted by the late 14th century tsunami were devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. This makes our findings relevant to debates about hazard mitigation and risk reduction. This example shows that archaeological, historical, and geological data are relevant in discussions about the long-term sustainability of communities exposed to geological hazards.
Highlights
Uplift at that locality in ∼1450 was about 3.0 m, about twice that of 2004
The presence there of early 15th-century Chinese Imperial ware strongly implies that we can identify the headland settlement as the major center of Lamri, a toponym mentioned in Chinese and Arabic accounts of medieval maritime trade
We have no compelling evidence that a tsunami had a major impact on historical settlements along this reach of the Aceh coast in ∼1450
Summary
Uplift at that locality in ∼1450 was about 3.0 m, about twice that of 2004. We have no compelling evidence that a tsunami had a major impact on historical settlements along this reach of the Aceh coast in ∼1450. The best direct evidence for the 1450 tsunami remains the younger of the two coral-rubble beds at the Lubhok Bay site on the Lamreh headland [14]. In terms of impact on coastal settlements, it is possible either that the mechanics of the 1450 rupture did not generate a tsunami as powerful as the 1394 and 2004 events or that there was a tsunami but that recovery from the 1394 event had not yet begun in earnest by 1450, so there would have been little human infrastructure to destroy in the affected areas. Further research is needed to clarify the nature of the 1450 even
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