How did earthquakes affect the ruins of Olympia?

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Map of southeastern Europe highlighting Greece and marking the location of Olympia with a red star, indicating its status as a World Heritage Site. Olympia is shown in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula, surrounded by neighboring countries and nearby seas including the Ionian, Aegean, and Mediterranean. — Olympia Olympia was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1989.

Earthquakes played a significant role in the physical degradation of the ancient site of Olympia. Following the destruction of the site's temples by order of Theodosius II in 426 CE, the ruins suffered further structural damage from major earthquakes that occurred in 522 and 551 CE.1

These seismic events contributed to the site's decline, eventually leading to it being covered by mudslides and silt from the Cladeus River, which paradoxically helped preserve the remaining ruins until their eventual excavation in the 19th and 20th centuries.1