RT Journal Article
T1 Landslides impact and management on human settlements over 3000 years: the case of the Montilla Castle Hill (Córdoba, Spain)
A1 Jiménez Espejo, Francisco
A1 González Castillo, María Lourdes
A1 Lamas, Francisco
A1 Martínez Moreno, Francisco José
A1 Galindo Zaldívar, Jesús
A1 Camuera, Jon
A1 Moyano, Sergio
A1 Peláez, J. A.
A1 Urbano, José Luis
A1 Camacho Calderón, Mónica
A1 Ortiz, Raimundo
AB In recent decades, global urbanisation has increased dramatically. The study of urbanised areas over the last millennium offers valuable insight into the long-term landslide hazards associated with human settlements. Anthropogenic environmental impact and urbanisation in southern Iberia began around 2200 yr BCE, rendering this region a unique location to examine interactions between building construction and landslide over millennial timescales. The Montilla Castle Hill, in south Spain, was selected for this study due to its clear evidence of landslides and confirmed historical occupation dating back to the Copper Age. This study adopted a multidisciplinary approach, integrating archaeology, geology, geophysics, geotechnical modelling and related disciplines to characterize construction types and pathologies, as well as landslide ages, critical stability threshold values, landslide mechanisms and key features. The obtained data were compared with regional paleoclimate records and earthquakes/tsunamic events in south Iberia. Four landslide activity phases have been dated: from 650–550 BCE, from 400 to 200 BCE, from 1400 to 1450 and along the XVIII to XX centuries. Observations revealed that the presence of major buildings at the summit of the Castle Hill, at the landslide crown, were a key factor in promoting the reactivation of ancient landslides. This study found no evidence linking climate conditions with slope stability, but a correlation with major regional earthquakes was observed, in agreement with the modelled values obtained.
PB Springer
SN 0921-030X
YR 2026
FD 2026-03-20
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/133923
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/133923
LA eng
NO Jiménez-Espejo, F. J., González-Castillo, L., Lamas, F., Martínez-Moreno, F. J., Galindo-Zaldívar, J., Camuera, J., Moyano, S., Peláez, J. A., Urbano, J. L., Camacho Calderón, M., & Ortiz, R. (2026). Landslides impact and management on human settlements over 3000 years: The case of the Montilla Castle Hill (Córdoba, Spain). Natural Hazards, 122(5), 193. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-025-07963-0
NO Junta de Andalucía
NO MICIU/AEI https://doi.org/10.13039/501100011033
NO Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
NO Agencia Estatal de Investigación
NO Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional FEDER
DS Docta Complutense
RD 11 mar 2026