Study and Evaluation of the Seismic Features of a Rural Roman Temple: The Case of the Temple of Ain Harcha, Lebanon

This study examines the architectural resilience of the Roman temple of Ain Harcha, located in a seismically active zone on the western slope of Mount Hermon in Lebanon. The temple maintained most of its original architectural form for nearly 2,000 years in a rural, earthquake-prone region, making it a valuable case study. The article provides a general analysis of the temple's architectural layout, material properties and structural design, clarifying its construction methods and ability to withstand earthquakes. The study also examines the temple's seismic resilience through the nonlinear damage model simulation and the pushover analysis. This research contributes to the understanding of seismic-aware practices in rural Roman temples and highlights how ancient building knowledge adapted to the geological context can inform modern conservation and seismic risk strategies.