SEISMIC DESTRUCTION TRACES OF THE TILE KILN

OF THE MEDIEVAL POTTERY PRODUCTION CENTER

IN THE SUATKAN SPRING GULLY

(Bakchisaray district, Crimea)

D.A. Moiseev1, A.M. Korzhenkov2, A.N. Ovsyuchenko2

1 Bakhchisaray Historical, Cultural and Archaeological Museum-Reserve, Bakhchisaray,

Republic of Crimea, Russia

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

Abstract. Pottery center Suatkan is placed in the Mountain region of the Crimea not far from one of economical and political medieval centers in this region, formed around Mangup and Eski-Kermen fortresses. The specialization of this center was production the building ceramic – roof tiles. Archeological excavations of the pottery production center Suatkan has discovered several tile production kilns. At least one of them (kiln 12) has specific deformations caused by seismic destructions. They are: systematic collapse of arc constructions to the South and rotations of parts of the furnace division wall. As a result of the investigation we can say that the kiln 12 was destructed by the strong earthquake. The damages and destructions of other medieval kilns from the South-Western Crimea (in Chersonesos, on the outskirts of Mangup and Bakla towns, near Sudak) and of an earlier kiln 10 from Suatkan center (in time of functioning of kiln 12 it was destructed and buried under rubbish and soil) differ from damages and destructions of kiln 12 from Suatkan. Thus, we can ascertain that kiln 12 was destroyed by a powerful earthquake in the beginning of the XI c. Apparently, the maximum earthquake vibrations, that destructed kiln 12, came from the South–South-East from South Crimean seismogenic zone. Local intensity of seismic vibrations was I = VII–VIII by the МСК-64 scale.

Keywords: pottery production kiln, roof tile, pottery production center Suatkan, Crimea, earthquake, seismic deformations, kinematic indicators, Medieval times.

About the authors

MOISEEV Dmitry A. – director, Bakhchisaray Historical, Cultural and Archaeological Museum-Reserve. Bakhchisaray, Republic of Crimea, Russia. Tel.: +7 (36554) 4-28-81. E-mail: ohota_d@ukr.net

KORZHENKOV Andrey M. – Ph. D. (geol.-min.), head of laboratory, Schmidt Institute of Physics of the Earth, Russian Academy of Sciences. Moscow, Russia. Tel.: +7 (916) 226-90-92.  

E-mail: korzhenkov@ifz.ru

OVSYUCHENKO Alexander N. – Ph. D. (geol.-min.), head of laboratory, Schmidt Institute of

Physics of the Earth, Russian Academy of Sciences. Moscow, Russia. Tel.: +7 (499) 254-90-15.

E-mail: ovs@ifz.ru