Aquisgrani terrae motus factus est (part 2): Evidence for medieval earthquake damage in the Aachen Cathedral (Germany)
Klaus Reicherter|Andreas Schaub|Tomás Manuel Fernández-Steeger|Christoph Grützner|Tanja Kohlberger-Schaub
During archaeological and geotechnical investigations, the Carolingian part of Aachen Cathedral (Germany) was excavated. The first building in Germany to join UNESCO World Heritage list. In rock walls fundament medieval floors, open cracks were found. Subsidence mortar floor about 50 cm with lateral dragging, which reconstructed during construction Cathedral, can be observed. main is founded on Devonian limestones shales, Pleistocene loess Roman urban debris. loamy sediments show angular fragments, are not related permafrost features but interpreted as shear extensional fractures. Some filled black clay from below they downwards. These structures injection caused by thixotropy clays. Open cracks, spread injections occur usually earthquakes a magnitude higher than 5.5. historical German earthquake catalogues provide three important passages for region Aachen. Both fall into relatively short time interval. One occurred winter 803 AD, another one 823 last 829 AD between Ash Wednesday Easter. notes tell shaking significant structural damage fatalities. This constructional history allowed dating event, favouring event causative damaging observed Cathedral.
Quaternary International