Earthquake Damage and Repair: New Evidence from Jerusalem on the 1927 Jericho Earthquake

Abstract

Online Material: Four additional photos. On 11 July 1927 at 15:04, an earthquake struck Mandatory Palestine and its close surroundings, resulting in considerable casualties and damage (Avni, 1999). Recent studies estimated the epicenter at the north of the Dead Sea (Shapira et al. , 1993; Zohar and Marco, 2012) and a magnitude of M L 6.25 (Avni, 1999). Jerusalem, located nearly 30 km west of the epicenter, suffered greatly in the earthquake. Many of its structures were damaged, leaving several people killed, many injured, and a few hundreds homeless. The governing British Mandate commissioner responded quickly and almost immediately instructed the Public Works Department to initiate field surveys and to recommend necessary repairs (Avni, 1999). One of the strategies implemented for repairs was the use of a metal apparatus, referred to as iron anchor, to stabilize damaged structures and walls (Willis, 1927; Michaeli, 1928). During a recent field survey initiated within the area close to the Jaffa Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem, we have identified many iron anchors (Fig. 1). Varying in shape, size, and color, they appear mostly at higher sections of the outer walls of pre‐twentieth century structures. In general, a pair of anchors is installed at two opposite sides of the weak structure, which are screwed into an iron rod to connect them together. This technique effectively ties the building together and consequently prevents its further deterioration (Fig. 2). We map these anchors and their geographic locations, characterize their host structures, and classify them into six types (Fig. 3). Figure 1. The research area and the locations of iron anchors with the anchors classified into six types. Sites labeled J1–J7 show the locations of the inspected buildings presented in this …