Sāfitā castle and rockfalls in the ‘dead villages’ of coastal Syria – an archaeoseismological study

Sāfītā, a crusader fortification in Tartūs Governorate, coastal Syria, bears major damages of earthquake origin. The tower suffered heavy vibration, which produced fractures across the thick walls, widening the central portion of the building, and causing arch keystones to slide downwards. Apparently a ∼north–south strong motion was responsible for the damages. Further north, at Khirbat al-Qurshiyya, an abandoned village from Late Antiquity, a quarry abounds with fallen blocks. These display displacement predominantly in a northerly direction, suggesting a north–south strong motion. ‘Ayn-Qadīb, a small village in the Jabal Ansāriyya ranges, was damaged by a northward-directed rockfall. A contemporary letter testifies to the fact that Sāfītā donjon was heavily damaged by the AD 1202 earthquake. The Yammouneh Fault, which probably caused the damage, is only 50 km away further south.