Signatures of 1905 Kangra and 1555 Kashmir Earthquakes in Medieval Period Temples of Chamba Region, Northwest Himalaya

Abstract

ABSTRACT Deformed monuments can be used to help constrain the timing of an earthquake, its epicenter, and the extent of its damage. In the present work, we studied the ancient temples in the Chamba and Bharmour area from the seventh century onward in the Ravi River catchment of the Chamba district of western Himachal Pradesh, India, which lies in the Kashmir seismic gap of the northwest Himalaya. Many architectural features of the temples show earthquake‐induced deformation signatures that include tilting of the pillars and temple structures, fractures, and opening in the brick masonry. The Bharmour temples located 45 km north of Kangra show shear‐type deformation in the east–west direction. The Chamba temples, which lie 52 km northwest of Kangra and outside the rupture zone of 1905 Kangra earthquake, display shear or rigid body rotation in the north–south direction. The deformation features observed in the temples suggest that the Bharmour area lies within the 1905 Kangra earthquake meizoseismal zone, and that the 1555 Kashmir earthquake rupture zone extended southeast toward Chamba.