Thomas et al. (2007) dated Earthquake VII to the second century CE on the basis of Nabataean pottery recovered from both the collapse layer and the underlying deposit. They acknowledged uncertainty as to whether the collapse was the result of human activity or earthquake destruction. Following the Roman annexation of Nabataea in 106 CE, the authors observed that there is “debate about the degree of Nabataean resistance to the annexation that might have resulted in destruction by human agency in this period (Bowersock 1983: 78–82; Parker 1986: 123–24; Fiema 1987; Freeman 1996).” Nonetheless, Thomas et al. (2007) also remarked that “a complete section of collapsed wall might suggest earthquake destruction.”