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We challenge the former interpretation of the !sedimentary
me´ lange" of the Makran accretionary complex as a tectonic
me´ lange diapirically emplaced from below and provide evidence
for its sedimentary gravitational emplacement from the
north during Tortonian–Messinian times (between 11.8 and
5.8 Ma). It is an olistostrome that includes blocks of ophiolites
and oceanic sediments derived from the !coloured me´ lange" to
the north, and reworked chunks of the turbidites on which it
rests with an erosional truncation. The chaotic scattering of
blocks of any size and lithology and the weak, soft-sediment
deformation of the matrix argue against a tectonic emplacement
of the chaotic formation. Its size and internal structure,
together with the size of the individual blocks, make the
olistostrome a fossil equivalent of the large, gravitationally
emplaced debris flows observed along present-day continental
margins and unstable volcanic edifices.
