TRACES OF THE STRONG EARTHQUAKE IN THE MEDIEVAL SETLLEMENT PHANAGORIA ON TAMAN PENINSULA

Руины хорошо изученного древнего города Фанагория предоставили уникальную возможность для восстановления неизвестной ранее страницы сейсмической истории Таманского полуострова. На основе собранных геологических, геофизических и археосейсмологических данных выдвинута гипотеза о гибели средневекового города Фанагория в результате катастрофического землетрясения в X веке. Город оказался прямо в месте выхода очага сильнейшего (9?10 баллов по шкале MSK-64) землетрясения на поверхность, связанного с Фанагорийской флексурно-разрывной зоной. Ruins of well studied ancient settlement Phanagoria have given a unique opportunity for recovery of unknown earlier seismic history of Taman Peninsula. On the basis of collected geological, geophysical and archeoseismological data the hypothesis of death of the medieval settlement Phanagoria as a result of a catastrophic earthquake in the 10th century is made. The deep and near-surface structure of the Phanagoria deformation zone has been studied by seismic exploration. Along the southern coast of the Gulf of Taman the subvertical low-weak zone is detected. In outcrops the flexures of the neogen-quarternary layers and their immersion towards the sea are revealed. Deformation zone has been traced on the ancient settlement Phanagoria. On an excavation of the late medieval hillfort we have detected a ground flexure – to a surface on which ancient buildings of the 9-10th centuries were constructed. The settlement Phanagoria has appeared directly in the place of an exit of the source of the strongest (IX-X on MSK-64 scale) earthquake on a surface connected with the Phanagoria deformation zone.