El Ouahabi et al. (2018) identify the uppermost anomalous deposit, E1, between 20 and 60 cm in the Amik Lake core. The deposit contains numerous reworked shells and two peaks in magnetic susceptibility, one at 34 cm and a larger double peak between 46 and 58 cm. These peaks are accompanied by elevated Cr₂O₃ content, coarse sediment, and shell reworking, indicating short-lived disturbance events superimposed on background lacustrine deposition (El Ouahabi et al., 2018:5).

Tectonically, the interpretation is reinforced by the location of the core within the Amik pull-apart basin along the Dead Sea Fault. The two E1 peaks are correlated with large historical ruptures of adjacent fault segments, specifically the 1822 CE Aleppo Quake and the 1872 CE Amik Golu Quake (El Ouahabi et al., 2018:4). Both events reached magnitudes of M ≥ 7 and ruptured the Karasu and Hacipasa fault segments, respectively. The 1822 earthquake disrupted the Afrin and Orontes river systems, while the 1872 event triggered liquefaction near the coring site, implying high-intensity shaking and strong sediment remobilization within a tectonically sensitive basin.

Chronologically, E1 is constrained using a composite age model rather than radiocarbon alone. Shells were deemed unreliable for dating, and only micro-charcoal provided suitable radiocarbon material (El Ouahabi et al., 2018:4). The upper sequence was instead dated by combining ²¹⁰Pb-derived sedimentation rates, the historically dated 1822 and 1872 earthquake horizons, and radiocarbon ages from deeper micro-charcoal samples. This integrated approach allows the two high magnetic susceptibility and Cr₂O₃ peaks within E1 to be securely assigned to the 1822 and 1872 events.

Fig. 3b - Age–depth diagram for Amik Lake based on calibrated ¹⁴C age results obtained from micro-charcoal remains, ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁵Cs activities, correlation with other dated sedimentary sections in the Amik Basin, and historical earthquake tie point - click on image to open in a new tab - El Ouahabi et al. (2018)