Ancient cave city Vardzia hit by two earthquakes in two days

A 3.4 magnitude earthquake has struck near Georgia’s ancient cave city Vardzia, the second time in two days.

No damage was recorded to the historic site in yesterday’s earthquake, which struck just before 4pm.

Official details from the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia said the 3.4 magnitude earthquake was recorded six kilometres from Vardzia at 3:56pm.

Vardzia is a cave monastery complex that dates back to the 12th-13th Centuries.

This was the second earthquake to hit the region in two days. On August 5 a 3.8 magnitude earthquake was recorded in Turkey and the shock was felt in Vardzia, located 30 kilometres away from the earthquake’s epicentre.

In both earthquakes vibrations were recorded by seismic equipment of Vardzia’s monitoring system at all of the system’s seven monitoring points.

The monitoring equipment, which included an ultra-modern radar system, had been installed at the site to record activity and prevent the city from further disrepair. In the past the ancient site was abandoned and partially damaged however a major project to restore the site was underway.

Ancient cave city Vardzia in southwest Georgia.

The radar system was extremely sensitive, with 2mm precision, and recorded any kind of deformation, cracks, internal movement as well as movement of rocky masses.

In the framework of the Save Vardzia program, Ilia State University scientists, who are partners of the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia, have already carried out an analysis of the radar recordings, which clearly identifies the impact of the earthquakes on the complex.

National Agency for Cultural Heritage Preservation of Georgia said radar scanning of the facade showed no reports of damage to the ancient site. After initial observations, the site will continue to be examined for the next 10 days so expert can create a full analysis of the site and gain full results of the earthquake’s possible impact.