ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL
ESM 1
Preliminary List of Historic Earthquakes that Caused Damage in
Jerusalem
The following table integrates reports of historic earthquakes that caused damage in Jerusalem. It
is based on critical reviews and investigations that rely on contemporary sources. Relevant comments
from other sources are added. In light of the difficulties discussed by Ambraseys (2005), this should be
regarded as a preliminary list and further detailed examination is required to establish the full scope of
seismic damage to Jerusalem.
Date of the earthquake: as detailed as known (UT): year, month, day, hour, minute. Location in
DST, not necessarily on the main transform: N- north of Israel; C- in Israel, north of the Dead Sea; S- in
Israel, south of the Dead Sea. Estimated size: following the broad categories suggested by Ambraseys and
Jackson (1998): L- large (7.8 > Ms ≥ 7.0), M- Moderate (7.0 > Ms ≥ 6.0) and S- small (Ms < 6.0).
Date of
Earthquake
363 05 18-19,
night
634 09
Location
in DST
C
C
Est. Size
Source of data, reported damage and comments
M-L
This seems to be a significant earthquake that caused widespread
damage. Guidoboni et al. (1994): Contemporary sources report of
damage to the temple area which was under construction and a fire
that followed it. Later sources, however, of the 6th century that
translated what may have been written by the bishop of Jerusalem
at the time of the earthquake, note that a suburb of the city
(Jerusalem) and more than half of Jerusalem were destroyed.
Amiran et al. (1994): damage to the temple area, some workmen
were killed.
S
Guidoboni et al. (1994) quote the historian Michael the Syrian:
“The church of the Resurrection and that of the Golgotha and many
places collapsed in the earthquake…”
Shalem (1949): al-Aqsa collapses while being built by Omar.
746 01 18
morning
C
M-L
Karcz (2004) refers to historic sources that describe damage to
Jerusalem as well as to other sources that do not mention any
damage. He suggests that the 746 01 18 event occurred in the
Jordan Valley and the second one on 749/750, in Mesopotamia,
and concludes that “It is possible that the intense damage in
northern Israel and Jordan (possibly also in Jerusalem and
Damascus) includes the collapse of structures weakened in the
previous earthquake with epicenter more to the south.”
Karcz (2004) mentions damage in: “the eastern and western parts
of al-Aqsa compound […] destruction in Jerusalem and injuries to
the descendants of Shadad al Aws, one of the Prophet’s
companions. […] archaeologists … report extensive damage in
Jerusalem, particularly to the central Ummayad administrative
building, still under construction at the time of the earthquake…”
Guidoboni et al. (1994): quote 13th-14th source: “… the worst
damage occurred at Jerusalem” and a 15th source: “… there was a
strong earthquake in Syria which destroyed Jerusalem”.
Ambraseys (2005a): “Although it is possible that Jerusalem
sustained some damage, the sources are silent. They do describe at
some length the repairable damage caused to the Aksa mosque
around its mihrab, but details about damage to other buildings and
houses in Jerusalem are lacking.”
Amiran et al. (1994): “Severe damage to al-Aqsa mosque, large
Omayyad building south of the Temple area destroyed, people fled
into the open ‘and stayed there 40 days’ ”.
Shalem (1949): Damage to buildings in Jerusalem, but not as
severe as in other places. Santa-Marie church destroyed.
757 03 09
S
Ambraseys (2005a): “… it destroyed the repairs that had just been
made to the Aksa mosque after the first earthquake. It was said that
at the time of the third earthquake the platform of the mosque
opened, allowing the sky to be seen; another earthquake following
after this one closed the gap again.”
Karcz (2004) referring to al-Aqsa: “Once completed, however, the
mosque was hit by another earthquake (presumably in 757 A.D.)”
1033 12 05 before
sunset
1068 03 18 and/or
1068 05 29
C
S
M-L
L
Amiran et al. (1994), Guidoboni and Comastri (2005): Damage
to the city walls, the Temple area and many churches (including
Holy Sepulcher) and convents, a part of David’s tomb and
Ibrahim’s mosque collapsed, large number of people died.
Ambraseys et al. (1994) citing a historic report: “Damage
extended to Baniyas, where about 100 people were killed, and the
same in Jerusalem”. Amiran et al. (1994): Damage to the roof of
the Dome of the Rock.
It is not clear to which of the two events (according to Guidoboni
and Comastri, 2005) this damage should be related to.
1202 05 20 0240
N
L
Ambraseys and Melville (1988): “Jerusalem suffered relatively
lightly […] at intensities not exceeding VI.”
Guidoboni and Comastri (2005): slight damage in Jerusalem.
1458 11 08 or 16
S
M
Ambraseys et al. (1994): "In Jerusalem, the top part of the minaret
over the Zawiya al-Dakah was thrown down and a dome near the
church of the Holy Sepulcher was destroyed”. Amiran et al.
(1994): mention that the Minaret of Omariyeh mosque near the
Holy Sepulcher was destroyed in the earthquake of 1459. It is
reasonable to relate the event of 1459 to that of 1458 which
ruptured the northern Arava Valley (Klinger et al., 2000).
Ambraseys and Karcz (1992): “Damage in Jerusalem, chiefly to
tall structures, was widespread but repairable and undoubtedly not
as serious as some of the contemporary exaggerated accounts want
us to believe. The description of Jerusalem left by the pilgrims who
visited the city shortly after the earthquake known to us, does not
give the impression of a destructive earthquake…”. They suggest
that this was a medium magnitude event of MS about 6.0, in many
respects similar to that of the earthquake of 1927.
1546 01 14
afternoon
C
M
Ambraseys et al. (1994) describe damage such as: “…the belfry of
the Holy Sepulcher, which fell onto the church of the
Resurrection”.
Ambraseys (2005b): “…in Jerusalem damage was widespread but
not serious. Some public buildings suffered repairable damage and
a few people were killed in their shanty dwellings.
Amiran et al. (1994): Damage to the minaret at Bab es-Silsileh
and the Madrasa of Qaytbay. City walls damaged near the Golden
Gate. The cupola of the Dome of the Rock collapsed, as did the
cupola of the Holy Sepulcher and many towers. Most houses
damaged. 12 people killed.
1557 02
C
S
Ambraseys and Karcz (1992): “An earthquake caused the
collapse of a gun foundry, the forging house and ovens in
Jerusalem.”
1712 06 16
C
S
Amiran et al. (1994): Three Turkish houses ruined.
1834 05 26 04:00
C
M
Amiran et al. (1994): Several churches damaged including the
cupola of the Holy Sepulcher. Damage to the city walls, many
houses and cisterns, which were emptied as a result of the
earthquake. A minaret in the city and one on the Mount of Olives
collapsed, as did the cupola of the Ascension.
1837 01 01 14:34
C
L
1927 07 11 13 04
31.35N
35.25E
ML=6.2
List of references is in ESM 2.
Ambraseys (1997): In Jerusalem the earthquake was not very
strong but it did some small damage. It is alleged that the minaret
of the mosque at Kafr al-Tur, east of the city, was shaken down by
the shock.
Northern Dead Sea. Avni (1999): 24 people killed, 92 wounded
and more than 600 houses damaged in Jerusalem and nearby
villages. Details in the text and in Table 6.
ESM 2
Notes Regarding other Historic Earthquakes
This list refers to historic earthquakes (until to the 19th century) that were felt in Jerusalem but
did not cause damage, doubtful earthquakes that were thought to have caused damage in Jerusalem, and
doubtful reports of seismic damage.
Date
Comments
760-750 B.C.
Guidoboni et al. (1994); Ambraseys (2005b): “…we could find no direct or indirect
evidence that Jerusalem was damaged, and it is interesting that the details in Josephus
about the effects of the earthquake on the temple are not supported by earlier sources that
remain silent about damage anywhere in Judea and Israel."
92 02 28 B.C. Karcz (2004): It is imported from elsewhere in the Eastern Mediterranean: “So far no
evidence was found of impact of the ca. 90 B.C. Apamea Kibotos earthquake on the
Egyptian-Israeli-Levant coastal cities.” Guidoboni et al. (1994): The Apamea Kibotos
(Turkey) occurred before 88 B.C.
64 B.C.
Karcz (2004): “This event presents a further example of earthquakes imported into the
Israeli catalogues on flimsy evidence. […] inflated elements of the story enter a catalogue
as evidence of earthquake damage in Jerusalem…”
31 B.C
Karcz (2004): ”… the textual evidence reflects a relatively modest earthquake with
magnitude in the range of 6 - 6.5, rather than a major catastrophe. The earthquake
motives found in assorted texts and tentatively attributed to the 31 B.C. earthquake are
non indicative and may represent literary metaphors…” Overall, there are no direct
reports of damage in Jerusalem by this earthquake. Shalem (1949) was not aware of any
reports of casualties in Jerusalem.
33
This (or sometimes the 30 A.D.) is discussed in light of the Crucifixion event and
allegedly caused a crack. Ambraseys (2005b): ”the earthquake at the Crucifixion is a
spurious physical event.”
419
Guidoboni et al. (1994) cite original source that tells: “Many towns and villages in
Palestine were reduced to ruins in an earthquake”. Other sources note that “the Holy
places of Jerusalem and other areas were shaken by a very severe earthquake” and that
“Jews, pagans and catechumens in Jerusalem were terrified, and all were baptized”.
Amiran et al. (1994) note that this event was ‘severe’ in Jerusalem, but it is not clear if
this relates to the shaking or to the damage.
551 07 09
Darawcheh et al. (2000) and Guidoboni et al. (1994) do not mention damage in
Jerusalem in context of this earthquake (… the area to south from Tyre to Jerusalem was
also preserved…”), while Amiran et al. (1994) note much damage in Jerusalem. We
follow the former studies that rely on the original reports.
c. 710, 713/4
Amiran et al. (1994), after Shalem (1949), after Sieberg (1932), mention damage to the
eastern part of al-Aqsa, however, the largest known earthquake at that time is reported
from northern Syria, between 28 February to 10 March 713 (Guidoboni et al., 1994) and
no damage to Jerusalem is mentioned there. Karcz (1987) suggests that this report may
refer to felt reports from Syria and that the source of felt report for Jerusalem is not clear.
749 or early in 750
Ambraseys (2005a): “The second earthquake, which occurred in 749 or early in
750, affected only Mesopotamia and presumably the adjacent part of southern Syria.”
750 – 780
Amiran et al. (1994): Two earthquakes caused severe damage to the Temple area. The
second event ruined al-Aqsa. One of the events occurred on 3 May 765. However, Karcz
(1987) notes that there is a need to verify the parameters, spread and damage of these
events and that “The origin for description of damage to al-Aqsa is not clear”. Guidoboni
et al. (1994) mention only the 9 March, 757, event in the Levant in that time period with
no specific damage to Jerusalem.
808
Amiran et al. (1994) mention great damage to the church of St. Mary and the al-Aqsa
mosque, but Karcz (1987) comments that “The primary documentation appears to refer
to the long lasting effects of the 747 event”.
859 04 04
Amiran et al., (1994), after Shalem (1949), mention some damage to the temple area,
but Guidoboni et al. (1994) refer to an earthquake in the Maghreb at that time period.
859 12 30 - 860 01 29 Guidoboni et al. (1994) mention that this event struck Antioch in northern Syria,
and this seems to be too far (about 500 km) north of Jerusalem to have caused any
damage there.
1016
Shalem (1949) and other sources mention the collapse of the cupola of the Dome of the
Rock. On the other hand, Karcz (1987) comments that the occurrence of this event in
Jerusalem appears to be in dispute. Guidoboni et al. (1994) do not mention this event at
all.
1060
Amiran et al. (1994): The roof of the al-Aqsa mosque collapsed. Karcz and Lom
(1987) examined the sources for this event and suggested that “all cited references
converge upon a single listing, i.e., the report in Arvanitakis (1904) […] Unfortunately,
this work does not provide any documentation for the 1060 CE event.” Note that similar
damage was described also for the 1068 earthquake.
1105 12 24
Guidoboni and Comastri (2005): “… an earthquake frightened all the inhabitants of
Jerusalem. Since no other effects are recorded, we can assume that it did not cause
serious damage.”
1114 08 10
Guidoboni and Comastri (2005): An earthquake felt in Jerusalem but no effects
mentioned.
1117 June 26
Amiran et al. (1994) note that many buildings were destroyed in Jerusalem, but this is
not supported by Guidoboni and Comastri (2005) who relate the damage of this event
to Scandelion, southern Lebanon. Karcz (1987) suggests assessing this event in relation
to other strong earthquakes in northern Syria (1114-1115) or Europe (1117).
c. 1150
Amiran et al. (1994): Slight damage in Jerusalem in the earthquake of 1160 and
destruction of the monasteries of Mar Elias in the Judea Desert and St. John in the Jordan
Valley. Nevertheless, Guidoboni and Comastri (2005), who analyzed the original
source for this event, do not mention damage in Jerusalem.
1170 06 29
Guidoboni et al. (2004): “…the mainshock […] was strongly felt but without any
damage of note”.
1545
Amiran et al. (1994) mention that the Tower of the Holy Sepulcher was damaged. And
that the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem was damaged. However, Ambraseys and
Karcz (1992) do not mention an earthquake in 1545 and this report should probably be
related to the earthquake of 1546.
1759 10 30
Ambraseys and Barazangi (1989): “The shock was rather strongly felt as far as
Antioch, Aleppo, Jerusalem, and Gaza.”
REFERENCES (for ESM 1 and ESM 2)
Ambraseys NN (1997) The earthquake of 1 January 1837 in Southern Lebanon and Northern Israel,
Annali di Geofisica XL:923-935
Ambraseys NN (2005a) The seismic activity in Syria and Palestine during the middle of the 8th century;
an amalgamation of historical earthquakes. J Seismol 9:115-125
Ambraseys NN (2005b) Historical earthquakes in Jerusalem – A methodological discussion. J Seismol
9:329-340
Ambraseys NN, Barazangi M (1989) The 1759 earthquake in the Bekaa Valley: Implications for
earthquake hazard assessment in the Eastern Mediterranean region. J Geophys Res 94:4007-4013
Ambraseys NN, Jackson JA (1998) Faulting associated with historical and recent earthquakes in the
Eastern Mediterranean region. Geophys J Int 133:390-406
Ambraseys NN, Karcz I (1992) The earthquake of 1546 in the Holy Land. Terra Nova 4:253-262
Ambraseys NN, Melville CP (1988) An analysis of the Eastern Mediterranean earthquake of 20 May
1202. in: Historical Seismograms and Earthquakes of the World. Lee WHK, Meyers H,
Shimazaki K (Editors) 181-200
Ambraseys NN, Melville CP, Adams RD (1994) The seismicity of Egypt, Arabia and the Red Sea: A
historical review, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK
Amiran DHK, Arieh E, Turcotte T (1994) Earthquakes in Israel and adjacent areas: Macroseismic
observations since 100 B.C.E., Isr Explor J 44:260-305
Arvanitakis GL (1904) Essai sur le climat de Jérusalem, Bulletin de l’Institut Égyptien, ser. 4, 4 (1903):
128-189 [Essai d’une statistique des tremblements de terre en Palestine et Syrie: 178-183]
Avni R (1999) The 1927 Jericho earthquake, comprehensive macroseismic analysis based on
contemporary sources (in Hebrew, Engl Abstr), PhD Thesis, Ben-Gurion Univ of the Negev
Darawcheh R, Sbeinati MR, Margottini C, Paolini S (2000) The 9 July 551 AD Beirut Earthquake,
Eastern Mediterranean Region. J Earthq Eng 4:403-414
Guidoboni E, Bernardini F, Comastri A, Boschi E (2004) The large earthquake on 29 June 1170 (Syria,
Lebanon, and central southern Turkey). J Geophys Res 109:B07304. doi:10.1029/2003JB002523
Guidoboni E, Comastri A (2005) Catalogue of earthquakes and tsunamis in the Mediterranean area from
the 11th to the 15th Century, INGV-SGA, Italy
Guidoboni E, Comastri A, Traina G (1994) Catalogue of ancient earthquakes in the Mediterranean area
up to the 10th Century. ING-SGA Bologna, Italy
Karcz I (1987) Bibliographic Reliability of Catalogues of Historic Earthquakes in and around Israel, II
Catalogue of Turcott and Arieh (1986). Geol Surv Isr Rep GSI/10/87, Jerusalem
Karcz I (2004) Implications of some early Jewish sources for estimates of earthquake hazard in the Holy
Land. Ann Geophys 47:759-792
Karcz I, Lom P (1987) Bibliographic reliability of catalogues of historic earthquakes in and around Israel,
I Methodology and background. Geol Surv Isr Rep GSI/9/87
Klinger Y, Avouac JP, Dorbath L, Abou Karaki N, Tisnerat N (2000) Seismic behavior of the Dead Sea
fault along Araba valley (Jordan). Geophys J Int 142:769-782
Sieberg A (1932) Untersuchungen über Erdbeben und Bruchschollenbau im östlichen Mittelmeergebiet,
Denkschriften der medizinsch-naturwissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft zu Jena 18:161-273
Shalem N (1949) The earthquakes of Jerusalem. Yerushalyim 2 (1-2):22-54 (In Hebrew)
ESM 3
Possible Unstable or Failed Slopes in Jerusalem
site
New Israeli grid
(N / E)
Locality
Geology
1
6320 / 2226
Outside the Lions Gate, the
Old City
Rubble soil
2
From 63129 / 22578
To 63196 / 22626
East of El-Eizariya
Soil and calcrete
on top of Kum
Soil creep, rockslides in calcrete
3
63495 / 22293
Northern edge of the French
Hill
Soil and calcrete
on top of Kum
Hummocky morphology, soil
creep
4
634265 / 223104
East of Tzameret Habira
Soil and calcrete
on top of Kum
Hummocky morphology, soil
creep
5
63320 / 22370
East of Mt. Scopus, Hebrew
Univ. Campus
Kum
6
63293 / 22380
63290 / 22329
Eastern & western slopes of
Mt. of Olives
Soil and calcrete
on top of Kum
7
63152 / 22306
Mt. of Olives cemetery,
western slope
Kum
Inclined tombstones, fractures in
buildings and retaining walls
8
6326 / 2276
Adummim junction
Kum
Rock fall in cut-slopes
9
63129 / 22590
East of El-Eizariya
Kum
Slump morphology
10
63196 / 22566
East of El-Eizariya
Kum
Rockslides
11
63130 / 22569
East of El-Eizariya
Kum
Road block after the 1927
earthquake; rockslide in cut-slope
12
62869 / 22250
Seligsberg High School
Soil pockets on
top of Kum
Fractures and cracks in buildings
and lifelines
13
62697 / 22030
The hill east of Mar-Elias
Monastery
Soil and calcrete
on top of Kum
Hummocky morphology, soil
creep, rockslides in calcrete
14
62638 / 21415
Walag’e detour road
Kumo
Rockslides in cut-slopes
15
63080 / 21550
En-Kerem
Kumo
Rockslides in cut-slopes
Rd. 386, near Nes Harim
Kumo
Rockslides in cut-slopes
16
From 626915 / 207721
To 626798 / 207998
Description
Slumps
Slump as a consequence of debris
loading
Hummocky morphology, soil
creep, rockslides in calcrete,
crushed-rock sequence
17
634879 / 205422
Rd. 1, between Sha’ar
Hagay to Abu Gosh
Kus
Crushed-rock sequence (old
landslide ?), Rock-fall in cutslopes
18
From 631436 / 213091
to 631026 / 213301
Rd. 395, En-Kerem – Sataf
Kus
Crushed-rock sequence (old
landslide ?), Rock-fall in cutslopes
19
From 628989 / 207947
to 628257 / 207593
Rd. 386, near Nes Harim
Kus
Crushed-rock sequence (old
landslide ?), Rock-fall and
slumps in cut-slopes