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Engineering-Geolocial study of St. George castle of Cephalonia (Ionian Islands, Greece)

Etude de la forteresse St. Georges de Cephalonie (Grece) du point de vue de la géologie de l'ingénieur

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Abstract

A description of the superficial and underground constructions as well as the existing structural problems of St. George castle of Cephalonia is attempted, in order to organise a restoration plant of the site.

The area of study is sited 5km SE of the major twon of the island of Cephalonia, Argostoli.

During the field investigation, a total of 565 discontinuity measurements, at seven narrow sampling areas, were taken. Using the Schmidt-diagram method through data processing, it was concluded that the rock mass behaves like a compact mass and does not generate any stability problems to the castle construction.

It is noticeable that the structural problems of the castle buildings are due mainly to the earthquake activity of the area, followed by unfavourable climatic conditions and human intervention.

The study of the materials used in each phase of construction, as well as the determination of their provenance, have been proved very useful in case of restoration of the castle.

Résumé

On a étudié les constructions superficielles et souterraines et aussi les conditions géologiques, structurales et géotechniques de la zone de fondation de la forteresse St. George de Cephalonie, située à 5 km SE d'Argostroli, en vue de sa restauration.

On a constaté que la zone de fondation des calcaires du Crétacé ne pose pas de problèmes de stabilité et pourtant il y a de sérieuses déformations et catastrophes, qui sont provoquées surtout par les tremblements de terre, drès fréquents dans les îles Ioniennes. Les conditions climatiques (humidité élevée et pluviométrie forte: ≊ 1200 mm) la proximité de la mer et même les activités humaines et des interventions inopportunes (plantation d'arbres) sont aussi responsables de différentes altérations et déformations.

L'étude des matériaux de construction (calcaires et calcarenites) et la localisation des anciennes carrières donnent la possibilité d'utiliser les mêmes pierres pour la restauration de la forteresse.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mining Engineering, Section of Geological Sciences, National Technical University of Athens, 42 Patission str., 106 82, Athens, Greece

    E. Kolaiti & J. Koumantakis

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  1. E. Kolaiti
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  2. J. Koumantakis
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Kolaiti, E., Koumantakis, J. Engineering-Geolocial study of St. George castle of Cephalonia (Ionian Islands, Greece). Bulletin of the International Association of Engineering Geology 43, 61–67 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02590171

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