Seismic appraisal of heritage ruins: The case study of the St. Mary of Carmel church in Cyprus

This paper examines two different procedures for the seismic appraisal of the ruinous medieval St. Mary of Carmel stone masonry church in Famagusta, Cyprus. A detailed survey that included field tests for the identification of the modal characteristics of the structure together with laboratory and in situ tests for assessing the composition and properties of the monumental materials was performed. The results were used for the formulation and calibration of a finite element model representing the monument. The seismic behavior of the latter was examined via nonlinear static and time-history analysis. It was found that due to the lack of spatial continuity and the absence of a roof diaphragm, various parts of the monument tend to act as discrete macroblocks and localized failure mechanisms occur. Comparisons made between the results yielded by the different analysis methods, revealed that the implicit dynamic approach gives more realistic predictions of damage distribution. Nevertheless, the ultimate collapse modes obtained by both methods show relatively good agreement and are in line with field observations. Capacity estimations suggest that the case-study monument fails to satisfy regional seismic demands and underline the high vulnerability exhibited by heritage ruins. It is thus concluded that further research is required in order to develop procedures particularly suited to the seismic appraisal of heritage ruins and to the design of appropriate interventions for collapse prevention.