Archaeoseismology: Past, present and future

Reflecting on the burgeoning scientific discipline of archaeoseismology, a clear trend can be discerned. What started as an “extravaganza” in a good story (archaeological perspective) became a multidisciplinary effort to get a maximum amount of information on the parameters of ancient earthquakes out of archaeological evidence (seismological and archaeoseismological perspective). A clear shift can be observed from a more qualitative approach focussing on the extension of earthquake catalogues to a more quantitative approach concerning site effects. Looking into the future, the vocation of archaeoseismology may lie elsewhere. Archaeoseismology could become a holistic interdisciplinary discipline concerned with establishing the essential earthquake culture in a region (sociological perspective).