IMPACT OF THE GEOLOGY AND TECTONIC HISTORY ON THE CONSTRUCTION AND DESTRUCTION OF THE ANCIENT SANCTUARY OF THE GREAT GODS ON THE ISLAND OF SAMOTHRACE, GREECE

The long, and continuing, tectonic history on the small, Greek island of Samothrace has left a complex assemblage of juxtaposed rocks. Yet, it is here that a religious cult chose to build their Sanctuary to the Great Gods starting about 600 B.C. The sanctuary was built, seemingly on purpose, in a steep ravine, hidden to sea invaders, but open to the destructive forces of flash floods, landslides, and seismic activity that left their mark. Except for marble, construction stone came from local quarries. The early builders had a profound understanding of rock properties for structural purposes, such as foundations and walls. Interpretation of petrographic and geochemical analyses has revealed a variety of well chosen rock types including volcanic (basalt, trachyte, rhyolite, and tuff) and sedimentary (fossiliferous limestone, calcareous sandstones, and a strong, vuggy, crystalline limestone). A dismembered ophiolite slice outcrops in the sanctuary. The pillow basalt member seems to have had a special religious importance to the cult as it is associated with altars and sacrificial areas. In addition, magnetite-rich beach sand nearby was used to smelt magnetic finger rings that were given to new initiates into the cult. Of special interest in the sanctuary is the site of the famous Winged Victory of Samothrace (Nike), recently restored and reinstalled in the Louvre in Paris. This site has a prominent position, cut into a steep slope, high on a hillside, perhaps purposely located to command attention. The construction stone at the site has a somewhat enigmatic grouping of basalt boulders and blocks of calcareous limestone. The integration of the geologic history of the site together with new, geomorphological 3-D reconstruction maps will be used to help restore and conserve the sanctuary.