The role of underground archaeological remains on the seismic response of a historic tower

The Italian territory features plenty of historic masonry buildings, many of which have undergone reconstruction, often atop ancient ruins. The presence of archaeological remains in the shallow layers of the ground is always disregarded in the seismic assessment of masonry buildings. To address this gap, the paper delves into the influence of underground masonry ruins on the seismic response of a bell tower built above a historic soil deposit. A comprehensive 3D finite-element model encompassing the tower, foundation, soil, and underground remains was developed. A parametric analysis was conducted, involving modifications to the geometry, mechanical properties, and location of the buried ruins. From the parametric study it emerged that the buried walls could alter the seismic signal at the base of the structure. The most critical scenario occurs when the buried archaeological ruins have a grid spacing comparable to the characteristic size of the foundation, especially in soft soils. Analysis of displacements, accelerations, and spectral accelerations at different elevations along the tower height revealed that the presence of archaeological ruins could modify the seismic response of the structure built above them. • The paper tries to fill the gap on the impact of buried archaeological remains on the seismic assessment of buildings. • The presence of buried archaeological ruins is overlooked in the current technical standards. • Underground archaeological remains may influence the seismic response of a historic tower founded atop. • A 3D parametric analysis was conducted by varying the geometry, the mechanical properties, and location of the archaeological ruins.