ABSTRACT
Historical structures are mainly masonry structures, which are composed of blocks made of natural stones, bricks or both, and they are assembled in different patterns with or without mortar. The authors have been recently involved with the restoration of the famous Shuri Castle, Nakagusuku Castle, Gushikawa Castle, an arch bridge in Iedonchi Royal garden and Yodore Royal Mausoleum of the Ryukyu Imperial period as well as static and dynamic stability assessment of some natural rock structures such as Perry Banner Rock. The deterioration by atmospheric agents, bombing and seismic shaking damaged some of these structures. The recent earthquakes in Kumamoto also caused severe damage to historical masonry structures. The authors describes the outcomes of experimental, limiting equilibrium and numerical studies on the stability of historical masonry structures under dynamic loads such as those induced by earthquakes and their implications are discussed.
