Natural risks and water management in Delphi

Amélie Perrier (1, 2) , Isabelle Moretti (3) , Luigi Piccardi (4)

1 EfA - École française d'Athènes
2 IRAMAT-CEB - IRAMAT - Centre Ernest Babelon
3 iSTeP - Institut des Sciences de la Terre de Paris
4 IGG - CNR Istituto di Geoscienze e Georisorse

The archaeological site of Delphi is subject to several natural hazards including earthquakes, gravity gliding, and slope instabilities. The architectural remains at the site bear the marks of the disasters that occurred in antiquity but also show how ingeniously the ancient Greeks dealt with risks and major events. The greatest danger seems to be landslides and rockfalls, which are caused by surface and underground water runoff. The period of reconstruction that followed the collapse of the Temple of Apollo in the 4th century BC seems to mark an important turning point in how ancient designers considered and responded to water-related risks. Water is appropriately channelled and later exploited for thermal baths.

Mots clés: earthquakes; rockfall; underground waters; architecture; thermal baths

Domaines: Archéologie et Préhistoire; Environnement et Société; Art et histoire de l'art; Etudes classiques; Histoire

Amélie Perrier, Isabelle Moretti, Luigi Piccardi. Natural risks and water management in Delphi. Giovanni Polizzi, Vincent Ollivier, Sophie Bouffier. From Hydrology to Hydroarchaeology in the Ancient Mediterranean. An Interdisciplinary Approach, Archaeopress, https://www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress/Products/9781803273747, 2022, Paperback: 9781803273747 Digital: 9781803273754. ⟨hal-03173683⟩