Earthquake destroyed ancient Greece?

An earthquake may have led to the collapse of the first Greeks - the Mycenaens - who inspired the legends of the Trojan Wars, 'The Iliad' and 'The Odyssey,' a new study has found.

The abrupt decline of the Mycenaens around 1200 BC, marking the start of a Dark Ages in Greece, is a Mediterranean mystery.

Warfare with invaders or uprising by lower classes form some leading explanations behind their collapse, 'OurAmazingPlanet' reported.

Some scientists also believe one of the country's frequent earthquakes could have contributed to the culture's collapse.

Now, geologists hope to find evidence to confirm whether an earthquake was a likely culprit, at the ruins of Tiryns, a fortified palace.

Tiryns was one of the great Mycenaean cities. The city-state's king built a palace atop a limestone hill, with walls so thick they were called Cyclopean, because its is believed only the one-eyed monster could have carried the massive limestone blocks.

According to Klaus-G Hinzen, a seismologist at the University of Cologne in Germany and project leader, the walls were about 10 meters high and 8 meters wide, with blocks weighing 13 tonnes.

Hinzen and his colleagues have created a 3D model of Tiryns based on laser scans of the remaining structures.

Their goal is to determine if the walls' collapse could only have been caused by an earthquake.

Researchers said geophysical scanning of the sediment and rock layers beneath the surface will provide information for engineering studies on how the ground would shake in a temblor.

They hope to use a technique called optical luminescence dating on soil under the blocks, which could reveal whether the walls toppled all at the same time, as during an earthquake.

"This is really a challenge because of the alterations. We want to take a careful look at the original conditions," Hinzen said.

"There is no evidence for an earthquake at this time, but there was strong activity at the subduction zone nearby," he said.

The Mycenaean preference to place their fortresses atop limestone hills surrounded by sediment would concentrate shaking, even from distant earthquakes, Hinzen said.

"The [seismic] waves get trapped in the outcrop and this can do a lot of damage. They are on very vulnerable sites," he added.