Stability Analysis of Excavation Fronts at the Herculaneum Archaeological Site
Stability Analysis of Excavation Fronts at the Herculaneum Archaeological Site
Italian cultural heritage represents an invaluable legacy, widely distributed throughout the national territory and often located in areas with high seismic hazard and in complex geomorphological and environmental contexts. This paper addresses the assessment of the stability, under both static and seismic conditions, of the excavation fronts located within the archaeological site of Herculaneum, Italy. To this end, a two-dimensional finite element numerical modelling was carried out, with the aim of reproducing the current safety conditions and estimating the seismic response of the slopes near the Villa of the Papyri, through nonlinear dynamic analyses using seismic inputs compatible with the design spectrum prescribed by current Italian technical regulation. The results of these analyses allow for a preliminary evaluation of the seismic performance of the excavation fronts, by comparing the seismic-induced displacements with reference threshold values, in order to define potential damage mitigation measures for the archaeological structures.
Orazio Casablanca; Margherita Zimbardo; Anna Scotto di Santolo
4th International Symposium on the Preservation of Monuments and Historic Sites
Underground Monuments and Rock Engineering
https://doi.org/10.53243/tc301-2026-99