Finite Element Modelling of the Archaeological Colonnade in Pompeii

In this paper, the seismic behaviour of an archaeological monumental colonnade under earthquake actions is examined through planar numerical simulations (nonlinear finite element analyses). The colonnade has two storeys with multi-drum columns and multi-blocks segmented trabeations. The scope of the analyses is to improve the knowledge on the structural behaviour of the innovative solution of segmented trabeation adopted in the ancient era for this colonnade and to evaluate the added vulnerability related to the effects of water leakage and pollutants in between the stone blocks of the structure as a result of the current degradation. The ancient city of Pompeii in Italy, is a partially buried Roman town-city; after suffering many earthquakes in the past it was destroyed during a long catastrophic eruption of the Vesuvius volcano in 79 A.D. and remained covered until its accidental rediscovery in 1749. Nowadays, the ruins of the ancient town present many partially collapsed buildings, not only as a result of other earthquakes during the last three centuries, but also as a consequence of rapid degradation of the archaeological material. Numerical analyses show the seismic vulnerability of a colonnade, in order to understand how a UNESCO World cultural heritage site can be preserved, avoiding risks for cultural heritage and human life.