THE CAVE 2016 SERIES

In this context, it is conspicuous that ridge concavities predisposing such dissecting channels across the cliffs are often accompanied-if not yet conditioned-by the channel network on the northeast-facing flank of the ridge.Īlthough drained by the Mtkvari River (also: Kura River)-the main drain in the Intra-Caucasus-Depression towards the Caspian Sea – and the Iori River as left side first-order tributary, the Iori Upland is characterized by an arid and moderate to warm continental half-desert steppe climate, strong winds, distinct temperature contrasts reaching seasonal differences of up to 60 ☌, and daily air temperature averages of 10–12 ☌ (Gagua and Mumladze 2012 Kordzakhia 1964 Mumladze and Lomidze 2012 Tielidze et al. The latter are frequently dissected by local small-scale channels which bundle earth and debris flows and, thus, play a key role in erosive processes. The general basin morphologies of the region are asymmetric as a result of reverse faulting with ridges displaying low-gradient northeast-facing flanks but quasi-vertical cliffs on their southwest faces which transition to more gentle gradients at the cliff foot. Lithologic sequences are gently inclined dipping towards the northeast and consist of continental and marine sandstone, conglomerate, limestone, marl, and clay dating to Miocene up to Pleistocene ages Quaternary sediment covers in the form of alluvial, diluvial, and proluvial deposits are frequent (Gamkrelidze 1992 Gobejishvili and Tsereteli 2012 Tielidze et al. The uplift rate is estimated at 2–3 mm/year (Gobejishvili 2011). The Iori Upland displays a hilly relief exposing anti- and synclinal hummocks and ridges of tectono-erosive origin with relative heights of up to 300 m above the surrounding flatlands and lengths of several kilometers (Fig. Seven caves with their associated sub-caves are located inside one of the numerous northwest-southeast trending ridge outcrops, which are characteristic of the Iori Upland-an intermountain Plateau within the Iveria Plain raising to 1000 masl from the depression between the Greater and the Lesser Caucasus (Fig. The Sabereebi Monastery is an artificially carved cave complex in the Kakheti Region in Eastern Georgia, some 60 km southeast of the capital Tbilisi (41° 28′ 15.17″ N, 45° 33′ 39.42″ E Fig.

With this bipartite approach, the study serves as a comprehensive 3D stability assessment of the Sabereebi Cave Monastery on the one hand on the other hand, the established procedure should serve as a pilot scheme, which could be adapted to different sites in the future combining non-invasive and relatively cost-efficient assessment methods, data processing and hazard estimation.

THE CAVE 2016 SERIES

In the second part, we explore four distinct series of static elasto-plastic finite element stability models featuring different levels of detail, each of which focuses on specific geomechanical scenarios such as classic landsliding due to overburden, deformation of architectural features as a result of stress concentration, material response to weathering, and pillar failure due to vertical load. In the first part of this study, we present a strategy to process point cloud data from drone photogrammetry as well as from laser scanners acquired in- and outside the caves into high-resolution CAD objects that can be used for numerical modeling ranging from macro- to micro-scale. The cliff into which these Georgian-Orthodox caverns, chapels, and churches were carved consists of a five-layered sequence of weak sedimentary rock-all of which bear a considerable failure potential and, consequently, pose the challenge of preservation to geologists, engineers, and archaeologists. This study assesses the static stability of the artificial Sabereebi Cave Monastery southeast of Georgia's capital, Tbilisi.

The cave 2016