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Seismic Deformations in the Walls of the Church of the Archangels Gabriel and Michael (Feodosia, Crimea)

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Abstract

Systematic damage to building structures of the Armenian Church of the Archangels Gabriel and Michael Church in Kaffa–Feodosia (southeast Crimea) are investigated. The deformations include tilts, rotations, and drag displacements of building elements, sagging of the hinge parts of arched structures above windows and entrances, and a wide range of fissures, including continuous joints and joint assemblies in the form of “flower” structures. Sets of systematic damage were formed by four earthquakes. The epicentral area of the earliest earthquake (event A) with a local intensity IL = VIII–IX (MSK-64) was located along the submeridional axis in the South Crimean seismogenic zone. After this event, the church was repaired: a chapel with counterforce function was built, and many windows were filled with stones for stability. The earthquake occurred in 1423 with a high probability. This dating is supported by seismogenic deformation data on 1423 earthquake in the walls of the Funa fortress. The next earthquake (event B) occurred with a high probability at the turn of the 17th–18th centuries along one of the segments of the South Azov seismogenic zone. The local seismic vibration intensity was IL = VII–VIII (MSK-64). Earthquake C occurred in the second half of the 18th century after large restoration works, which repaired the damage of event B. Its consequences have been especially well preserved in the arches and platbands of the western facade of the church. Maximum seismic oscillations that led to these damages acted along the ≈130°–160° axis. The local seismic intensity was IL = VII–VIII (MSK-64). The last earthquake (event D) occurred in 1875. Our data generally coincide with the available parameterization of this event. Its epicentral area was in the South Crimean seismogenic zone; intensity was IL = VII–VIII (MSK-64).

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Notes

  1. An architectural monument of federal significance.

  2. Gavit—the porch at the entrance to a church.

  3. The Church of the Archangels Gabriel and Michael is stretched along the SW–NE axis. The facade with a strike of 59°–64° is conditionally called “southern” for ease of description within this article. The same applies to the eastern (actual strike 149°), western (real strike 151°) and north (actual strike 63°) facades.

  4. Flying buttresses are external persistent arches of Gothic cathedrals, resting with the upper end against the wall, and with the lower end against pillars or buttresses.

  5. https://digitaltmuseum.se/021015948695/byggnad-hus-med-ett-litet-kors-med-byggnadsstallningar-nagra-manniskor

  6. https://ok.ru/vremenam/topic/66920610098092

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Funding

The study was carried out within the state task of the Schmidt Institute of Physics of the Earth, Russian Academy of Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Citadel LLC, 295047, Simferopol, Russia

    D. A. Moisieiev

  2. Schmidt Institute of Physics of the Earth, Russian Academy of Sciences, 123242, Moscow, Russia

    A. M. Korzhenkov, A. N. Ovsyuchenko & A. S. Larkov

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  1. D. A. Moisieiev
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  2. A. M. Korzhenkov
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  3. A. N. Ovsyuchenko
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  4. A. S. Larkov
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Correspondence to D. A. Moisieiev.

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Moisieiev, D.A., Korzhenkov, A.M., Ovsyuchenko, A.N. et al. Seismic Deformations in the Walls of the Church of the Archangels Gabriel and Michael (Feodosia, Crimea). Seism. Instr. 58, 219–233 (2022). https://doi.org/10.3103/S0747923922020074

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