The Garnì (Armenia) large earthquake on 14 June 1679: a new analysis

E. Guidoboni

SGA Storia Geofisica Ambiente, Bologna, Italy

R. Haroutiunian

Institute of Geological Sciences, National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia

A. Karakhanian

Georisk Scientific Research Company, Yerevan, Armenia

Abstract

The 1679 Garnì earthquake was one of the most destructive seismic events in Armenia, and one of the most widely documented directly by Armenian sources, considering this is an area where historical documentation is, on the whole, rather scarce. Moreover, this earthquake appears in the literature as the result of various interpretative and research models, so there are contradictory assessments of its impact and its parameters: its magnitude oscillated between 5.5 and 7, and epicentral intensity between VIII and X degree. Even its location varied by over 40 km. This contribution aims to enhance the acquired knowledge of this earthquake by applying a methodology of analysis to the available information that has already given positive results in historical seismology in Europe. On the grounds of the new sources and with a critical review of previously known ones, the authors can provide new and more accurate data on the earthquake, along with a detailed outline of the characteristics of the buildings affected and the historical and demographic conditions under which the earthquake occurred. Moreover, the data has been supplemented with a direct observation of the monuments still standing, thus revealing some of the earthquake's previously unassessed damaging effects. The authors have clearly arranged the use of data pertaining to different typologies, maintaining the evidence of such diversities even in the evaluation of the macroseismic intensity. This methodological approach has been adopted in order to evaluate the seismic effects in an area with a low density of historical documentation. As a result, the effects of this earthquake could be estimated at 34 sites (of which 20 documented from coeval sources and 14 on the grounds of direct observations). For this event there is also a good geological database regarding the active fault of Garnì. Hence, this study has also represented a test for comparing the results of the historical research with the known geological data.