Shaking Table Test on Seismic Response Properties of “Shicras,” Stones Wrapped in Vegetable Fiber Bags

Unique foundations consisting of stones wrapped in vegetable fiber bags called shicra (“woven”) have been found in many Pacific coast ruins constructed about 5,000 years ago as shrines in Peru. A shaking table test was conducted to investigate earthquake response properties of these shicra foundations. Results showed that in base isolation performance, shicra foundations “rolled” during earthquake vibration the same as in the case of roller base isolation systems.