Traditional Earthquake-resistant Construction in the East Aegean Sea: The Case of Eresos and Pergamon

The author investigates previously unknown, anti-seismic construction systems used

at vernacular buildings of the settlements of Eresos, in the island of Lesvos, in the east of Greece,

and in the settlement of Bergama, in the western coast of Turkey. The buildings examined employ

techniques that differ significantly from conventional traditional building practice in the area. This

building system resembles traditional anti-seismic structures of the Mediterranean like the ones of

Calabria (Italy) and Leukada (Greece). Structures in Bergama and Eresos employ both

autonomous masonry walls and timber frames with extensive ‘x’ bracing. During an earthquake,

these frames could guarantee the stability of the roof in case of a partial collapse of the masonry

structure. That building system seems to be based on advanced structural principles, such as the

one of energy dissipation. It thus represents one of the earliest surviving architectural responses to

earthquake danger in Greece and Turkey.