Geologic urban hindplanning: An example from a hellenistic-byzantine city,stobi, Yugoslavian macedonia

Stobi flourished between about 400b.c. anda.d. 600, and, like modern cities, was afflicted by several environmental-geologic difficulties. A large Christian church was built upon poorly compacted artificial fill, resulting in severe foundation problems. An earthquake did extensive damage to the Roman theatre between two stages of its construction. A catastrophic mudflow destroyed structures lying below a cliff of flysch sandstone and shale. After the third or fourth centurya.d. severe desiccation of the climate set in, leading to devegetation, flooding, and dust storms. Structures on the flood plain were buried in several meters of fine sediment. Stobi finally was abandoned, and the structures eventually were buried by wind-blown dust accumulating at the rate of about 1 meter per millenium.