October 63 BC Earthquake: Pantikapey, Russia
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Pantikapey, Russia in October 63 BC, 20 km below the surface.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- October 63 BC
- Place
- Pantikapey, Russia
- Magnitude
- 6.4 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 20 km (12 mi)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 45.200° N, 36.600° E
- Country
- Russia
The toll
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
October 63, 45.2 N, 36.6 E, depth 20 km, magnitude 6.4, intensity VIII.SR, IIa-4, 91
The following is noted in the [An] catalog, which
references [IIa-4]: "...at the time when Mithradites
were celebrating the feast of Ceres in Bosporus, a
great earthquake suddently occurred; it was so powerful, they say. that terrible destruction of the cities and fields was left in its wake." The dating in [IIa-4]: is erroneous (417 B.C.). Data from excavations indicate simultaneous damage to stone structures in the first century in the following populated areas: Pantikapei.
Nimfey, Kitey (?), Porfmiy, and Fanagoriia(?). (reference #223)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 63 BC99 to 1 BCRecent earthquakes near here
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 55.