The Tectonic Influence over the Greek Cities from Western Anatolia during the Antiquity – a Shore Dynamics Story

During the antiquity the Aegean west coast played a crucial role in the life of the Greek colonies in the area. Here were founded legendary cities like Miletus, Priene, Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Adramyttium or Troy. All these “new world” cities were different in many aspects from the origin of their inhabitants to the products they commercialized, but they had one big thing in common-water. During their prosperity apex these cities had either sea exit or river access but in the present day we found their ruins strained on land. These dramatic changes were caused by the vertical and lateral displacement of the numerous faults in the area. Anatolia is one of the most active tectonic areas on Earth which gives it a high mobility in terms of water bodies and shore line configuration. In order to calculate how much the shore line migrated since then, we have compiled GIS data, geological maps, archaeological reports, urban plans and ancient sources. We have seen that the shore withdrawn between several hundred meters (most common) to almost 30 km (in the Meander river delta) while the vertical displacement varies between several centimeters to several meters. The tectonic movements are neither uniform nor continuous and the tension released on faults through earthquakes can cause sudden topographical changes and physical damages of the urban areas. These events happened often in the past and continue to happen nowadays influencing the modern cities.