Earthquakes and Archaeological Heritage Sites: The Case of February 6 Earthquakes

Abstract

Earthquakes, one of the most destructive disasters in the world and in our country, occur as a result of tectonic movements in the earth's crust. Earthquakes have an important place among the natural disasters that occur on earth and have affected many civilizations throughout history. Archaeological heritage sites are valuable resources for understanding and preserving human history and past cultures. Earthquakes are disasters that have serious impacts on archaeological heritage sites. Earthquakes cause structural and non-structural damages to cultural heritage sites and even their complete destruction. Archaeological sites are particularly vulnerable to the effects of earthquakes. Damage such as collapse of walls, collapse of columns or damage to foundations threaten the integrity of archaeological heritage sites. Turkey has been home to various civilizations throughout history due to its location, fertile soils and favorable climate. Therefore, it has many important archaeological heritage sites. However, Turkey is one of the countries with high earthquake risk worldwide. Its archaeological heritage sites are also under earthquake risk. The recent earthquake of February 6, 2023 was one of the most important earthquakes in Turkey. The region affected by the earthquakes is a region with cultural continuity since the early periods of history. Archaeological sites in the region were also damaged by the earthquakes. In this study, it is aimed to examine the effects of earthquakes on archaeological heritage sites and to evaluate the conditions of archaeological heritage sites in the earthquake zone in the earthquake zone in the context of the February 06, 2023 Earthquakes.