Transliterated Name | Source | Name |
---|---|---|
Avdat | Hebrew | עבדת |
Abdah | Arabic | عبدة |
Oboda | Ancient Greek | Ὀβόδα |
Ovdat | | |
Obodat | | |
Abde | |
Avdat started out in the 3rd or 4th century BCE as a Nabatean way station on the Incense Road (Avraham Negev in Stern et al, 1993). By the 1st century BCE, the town was named Oboba after Nabatean King Obodas I. It was occupied continuously until it was abandoned perhaps as late as the 9th or 10th centuries CE. Situated at the end of a ~4 km. long ridge, Avdat may have suffered from seismic amplification during past earthquakes as it may be subject to a topographic or ridge effect.
Oboda was named for a Nabatean king, whose name has been preserved in the Arabic 'Abdah. The Tabula Peutingeriana shows Oboda to have been situated on the main Aila (Elath)-Jerusalem road. It has been identified by all scholars with Eboda of Arabia Petraea mentioned by Ptolemy (V, 17, 4). However, according to this writer, Ptolemy's Eboda was a village east of the Arabah and thus, this identification is unacceptable. Oboda ('Οβοδα) is also mentioned by Uranius, quoted by Stephanus of Byzantium. It appears in a papyrus from Nessana (no. 39), tentatively dated to the sixth century CE. Its identification with 'Abdah is certain, in view of the similarity of the ancient and the Arabic names and the geographical locations. Furthermore, the name Oboda occurs in third-century CE Nabatean-Greek inscriptions found at Oboda. The site lies in the Negev desert on a spur of a mountain ridge running from southeast to northwest (map reference 1278.0228). At its highest point it is 655 m above sea level
Oboda was founded at the end of the fourth or the beginning of the third century BCE as a station on a junction on the caravan routes from Petra and Aila to Gaza. Temples were constructed there during the reigns ofObodas III (30-9 BCE) and Aretas IV (9 BCE-40 CE). During that period it became an important center for sheep, goat, and camel breeding and the manufacture of Nabatean pottery. The military camp for the camel corps guarding the caravan routes, which stood northeast of the town, may also date from that time. During the reign of Malichus II (40-70 CE), Oboda suffered destruction at the hands of pre-Islamic Arab tribes. Under Rabbel II (70-106 CE), agricultural projects were developed in the vicinity, as is evidenced by dedicatory inscriptions on libation altars found there.
U. J. Seetzen was the first traveler to reach 'Abdah (l807). In 1838, E. Robinson located Oboda at 'Auja el-Hafir (later identified as Nessana). The town was surveyed by E. H. Palmer and T. Drake in 1870. In the summer of 1902, A. Musil conducted a more detailed survey, and in the winter of 1904 'Abdah was thoroughly explored by A. Jaussen, R. Savignac, and L. H. Vincent on behalf of the Ecole Biblique et Archeologique in Jerusalem. In 1912, the site was visited by a team headed by C. L. Woolley and T. E. Lawrence, on behalf of the Palestine Exploration Fund. W. Bachmann, C. Watzinger, and T. Wiegand, serving as officers of the unit for the Preservation of Monuments attached to the German-Turkish army, came to the area in 1916 and drew precise sketches of the churches and some architectural details. In 1921, A. Alt published a corpus of the Oboda inscriptions known at that time.
In 1999–2000 an area located east of the Byzantine town wall and the north tower at Oboda was excavated on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority. The excavation was directed by T. Erickson-Gini. It revealed a residential quarter with a series of dwellings covering an area of approximately 0.25 a
Archeological excavations have uncovered several earthquakes which struck Avdat/Oboda. Erickson-Gini, T. (2014) noted approximate dates and Intensities:
Substantial destruction in the early 2nd century CE
Some damage due to an earthquake in 363 CE.
A massive earthquake in the early 5th century CE
A massive earthquake in the early 7th century CE[JW: recent work (2022) may suggest this should revised to the 7th century rather than the early 7th century]
Erickson-Gini, T. (2014) described the early 2nd century earthquake as follows:
There is indirect evidence of a more substantial destruction in the early 2nd century CE in which residential structures from the earliest phase of the Nabataean settlement east of the late Roman residential quarter were demolished and used as a source of building stone for later structures. Destruction from this earthquake is well attested particularly nearby at Horvat Hazaza, and along the Petra to Gaza road at Mezad Mahmal, Sha'ar Ramon, Mezad Neqarot and Moyat `Awad, and at `En Rahel in the Arava as well as at Mampsis (Korjenkov and Erickson-Gini 2003).Erickson-Gini and Israel (2013) added
Evidence of an early second-century CE earthquake is found at other sites along the Incense Road at Nahal Neqarot, Sha'ar Ramon, and particularly at the head of the Mahmal Pass where an Early Roman Nabataean structure collapsed (Korjenkov and Erickson-Gini 2003; Erickson-Gini 2011). There is ample evidence of the immediate reconstruction of buildings at Moyat ‘Awad, Sha'ar Ramon, and Horvat Dafit. However, this does not seem to be the case with the Mahmal and Neqarot sites.Erickson-Gini and Israel (2013) discussed seismic damage at Moyat ‘Awad due to this earthquake
The Early Roman phase of occupation in the site ended with extensive damage caused by an earthquake that took place shortly before the Roman annexation of the region in 106 CE (Korjenkov and Erickson-Gini 2003). The building in Area C and the kiln works were destroyed, and the cave dwellings were apparently abandoned as well. Reconstruction was required in parts of the fort. At this time, deposition from its floors was removed and thrown outside of the fort and a new bath as well as heating were constructed in its interior. Along its eastern exterior and lower slope, rooms were added. Thus, the great majority of the finds from inside the fort and its ancillary rooms date to the latest phase of its occupation in the Late Roman, post-annexation phase, the latest coins of which date to the reign of Elagabalus (219–222 CE).
east of the Byzantine town wall and the north tower at Obodawhich she attributed to the southern Cyril Quake of 363 CE.
one room of the earlier structure appears to have been utilized in the fourth century CE (room 7), and it apparently collapsed in the 363 earthquake.I interpret this to mean that blocked doorways were found in Rooms 4, 7, and 17 and collapse was found in Room 7.
... Some structural damage, probably resulting from the 363 CE earthquake, is evident in the blockage of a few doorways and the collapse of one of the rooms [Room 7], as described above (rooms 4, 7, 17).
A massive earthquake took place in the early 5th century CE, substantial evidence of which was uncovered in the late Roman and early Byzantine residential quarter (Erickson-Gini 2010a: 91-93). All of the structures east of the town wall were abandoned and used as a source of building stone for the late Byzantine town. Following this earthquake, massive revetment walls were constructed along the southern wall of the acropolis in order to shore up the heavily damaged walls. In contrast, the late Byzantine citadel adjoining the temenos area of the acropolis has no revetment walls, certainly due to its construction following the earthquake. The two churches inside the temenos area were built using numerous early Roman ashlars and architectural elements originally from the Obodas Temple damaged in the earthquake.Tali Erickson-Gini in Stern et al (2008) noted that
numismatic and ceramic evidence uncovered in this third phase indicate that the dwellings [of the late Roman and early Byzantine residential quarter] were destroyed in a violent earthquake several decades after that of 363 CEadding that
following this second, local earthquake, the area was abandoned and many of the building stones were robbed.
A decisive factor in determining this phase is the dating of a series of earthquakes, one or more of which shattered numerous buildings in some of the towns of the central Negev. Although literary evidence is scarce, there is ample archaeological evidence that testifies to these disasters. At Oboda the entire length of the old southern Nabatean retaining wall was thrust outwards, and for this reason it had to be supported by a heavy, slanting supporting wall. Similarly much damage was caused to a massive tower of the Nabatean period, identified in July 1989 as the temple of Obodas (?), which in the Late Roman - early Byzantine period was incorporated in the citadel occupying the eastern half of the acropolis hill. Most of the damage was caused to the western and southern walls of the temple, and for this reason these too had to be supported by still heavier stone taluses, blocking the original entrance to the temple on the southern wall. It is against this talus that the South Church was built. Similar damage was also caused to some of the nearby buildings in the so-called Roman Quarter south of the temple. We may thus place the date of the earthquake between the end of the third century A.D., when the latest building in this quarter was constructed, and A.D. 541, when the Martyrium of St. Theodore was already being used as a burial ground.
The destruction of the town by a massive earthquake sometime in the early 7th century CE was one piece of a puzzle not mentioned by Negev. The earthquake certainly occurred after the latest inscription found at the site in the Martyrion of St. Theodore (South Church) in 617 CE (Negev 1981: 37). Direct evidence of the destruction and abandonment of the site was uncovered by Fabian, with massive destruction evident throughout the site, and particularly along the western face of the site with its extensive caves and buildings (Korjenkov et al., 1996). Mezad Yeruham, several kms further south, was apparently destroyed at the same time (Y. Baumgarten, personal communication), while the earthquake left a trail of damage at numerous sites. This is indicated by the early seventh-century construction of revetment walls around churches and private houses at Sobota (Shivta), Sa'adon, Rehovot in-the-Negev, and Nessana. Compared to other Nabataean sites in the Negev Highlands that indicate a continued occupation through the late Byzantine period well into the early Islamic period in the 9th c., Oboda was devoid of settlement in the early Islamic period. In place of a central town, such as Sobota (Shivta), Rehovot in-the-Negev, or Nessana, a significant number of early Islamic farming villages—many with open-air mosques—were found in close proximity to Oboda.Bucking et al (2022:1) uncovered evidence in the caves on the slope
for substantial human activity at the site during the Early Islamic period, c. AD 650–900.Investigations focused on the
2ha residential sector, which comprises hundreds of rock-hewn dwellings built in terraces along the northern, southern and western slopes immediately below this necropolis (Shereshevski 1991: 38–42; see Figure 2).Site chronology was established using radiocarbon dating due to a sparsity of ceramics. These results were described as follows:
Radiocarbon results were surprising: while a sample of straw extracted from mortar in the dipinti-intensive cave vestibule wall yielded dates within the expected Byzantine range, nine samples from the organic, dung-enriched south-western section were of Umayyad–Abbasid date, ranging from 1190–1320±30 BP/AD 650–890 (Figure 4) (Bucking & Erickson-Gini 2020). Three newly obtained dates from the northern and western sections yielded Abbasid dates (Figure 5): two from a substantial organic layer in the northern section, and one in the western section, where Abbasid Mefjer/Buff Ware (Cytryn-Silverman 2010) further corroborated this result (Figure 6). The emerging extended chronology enriches ongoing debate surrounding the fate of Negev Highland settlement in the Early Islamic period, especially that regarding continuities and discontinuities of site use between the Byzantine, Umayyad and Abbasid periods (e.g. Magness 2003; Avni 2008; Butler et al. 2020).
Effect | Location | Image(s) | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
Collapsed Vaults | Caves in the slopes adjacent to the Avdat Acropolis![]() ![]() Location of the caves in the northern part of Avdat, looking east Photo: Yaakov Shmidov, preparation: Ofer Sion Zion et al (2022) ![]() ![]() Location of the caves in the southern part of Avdat Photo: Yaakov Shmidov, preparation: Ofer Sion Zion et al (2022) |
numerous collapses of walls and cave vaults- Zion et al (2022) |
|
Collapsed Walls | Caves in the slopes adjacent to the Avdat Acropolis![]() ![]() Location of the caves in the northern part of Avdat, looking east Photo: Yaakov Shmidov, preparation: Ofer Sion Zion et al (2022) ![]() ![]() Location of the caves in the southern part of Avdat Photo: Yaakov Shmidov, preparation: Ofer Sion Zion et al (2022) |
numerous collapses of walls and cave vaults- Zion et al (2022) |
|
Collapsed Walls | Room 7 of Late Roman/Early Byzantine quarter![]() ![]() Stern et al (2008) |
|
|
Displaced walls surmised from blocked doorways (the blockage shoring up weakened walls) | Rooms 4, 7, 17 of Late Roman/Early Byzantine quarter![]() ![]() Stern et al (2008) |
|
Effect | Event "Previous" or 7th century |
Location | Image(s) | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
TREND DISCORDANCE OF FIRST LOWER ROWS OF MASONRY WITH UPPER WALL FRAGMENTS, AND TREND DEVIATION FROM PERPENDICULAR OF WALLS JOINING EACH OTHER | "Previous" | Room 10 of Court in South Quarter![]() ![]() Detailed plan of one court in the South Quarter (after Fabian, 1997, with modifications). Area of the court is shaded in Figure 2.
Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
5
![]() ![]() Counterclockwise rotation of whole western wall of room No. 10 of the court (see Figure 4). Its former position - preserved fundamental row - is shown by pointers. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
Strange discordance of trends of first lower rows of masonry (usually one or two rows) and upper wall fragments is visible in some parts of Avdat. For example, there is counterclockwise rotation of the whole NW wall of room No. 10 of the court (see, Figure 3). Horizontal displacement was 45 cm. During rotation around the vertical axis the NW wall was not collapsed and townsmen, who settled there after the 363 A.D. shock, used the rotated wall for rebuilding (Fabian 1996, 1997). The original trend of the wall was 50°, preserved first and second lower rows testify about that building (Figure 5). Modern trend azimuth of rotated wall is 41°.- Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
SHIFTING OF UPPER PRESERVED FRAGMENTS OF WALLS AS COMPARED WITH LOWER ROWS OF STONES | "Previous" | Room 8 of Court in South Quarter![]() ![]() Detailed plan of one court in the South Quarter (after Fabian, 1997, with modifications). Area of the court is shaded in Figure 2.
Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
6
![]() ![]() Displacement to WNW of wall fragment of room No. 8 of the court (see Figure 3). Its former position is shown by pointers. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
The shift of the building elements without rotation may be used in a similar manner to wall inclination or block collapse. The upper element of a construction is shifted toward or away from an epicenter due to inertia. In the Avdat such a displacement, of 80 cm, can be observed for the upper fragment of the NW wall of room No. 8 of the court (see, Figure 3) in a NW direction (Figure 6). Its former position (trend azimuth is 41°) is marked by one stone row of 20 cm height. The width of the shifted wall fragment is 70 cm, length is 165 cm, height of preserved fragment is 55-60 cm, its trend azimuth is 45°.- Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
NONCOINCIDENCE OF LOWER STONE ROWS WITH UPPER BUILDING STRUCTURES | "Previous" | N yard of bath-house | 7a
![]() ![]() Noncoincidence of lower most stone rows and upper fragments of wall in the northern yard of bath-house situated near Avdat hill foot. (a) View to northern yard corner Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) 7b ![]() ![]() Noncoincidence of lower most stone rows and upper fragments of wall in the northern yard of bath-house situated near Avdat hill foot.>br> (b) NW external wall of yard, lower most stone row is continuing to NW "without reason" (field notebook is on it). The bath-house is on the background. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
Additional indirect evidence of possible seismic activity in the studied territory is non-coincidence of lower stone rows with upper building structures. Such patterns occurred when a building was partly destroyed during an earthquake, but ancient people decided not to restore it. They removed still standing preserved fragments of the destroyed building and smoothed out the piles of rubble. They built a new building on the site of the old one. Later, during recent archeological excavations, researchers discovered strange non-coincidence of lower stone rows with upper building structures (Fabian, 1996, 1997).- Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
SUPPORT-WALLS | "Previous" | Southern Church![]() ![]() Avdat Settlement Plan Zion et al (2022) |
8
![]() ![]() Support-wall was built for support of eastern corner of Southern Church. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
Indirect evidence of more old shocks are special support-walls which were built solely for this purpose. One such wall was built to support the eastern corner of the Southern Church (P. Fabian, 1994, personal communication). The wall which needed support had an ENE trend (Figure 8). One more support-wall was built to support the external wall (with NE strike) of the South Quarter of the town, opposite the eastern corner of the Fort, later it was dismantled by archeologists during excavation (P. Fabian, personal communication, 1996). This building of supporting walls for city walls of the same trend is not isolated. Apparently, during the Roman earthquake these city walls were slightly tilted, but they were not collapsed. Ancient people built those support-walls specifically to prevent them from possible future collapse (Fabian, 1996, 1997).- Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
CAVE DESTRUCTIONS | "Previous" | Caves![]() ![]() Location of the caves in the northern part of Avdat, looking east Photo: Yaakov Shmidov, preparation: Ofer Sion Zion et al (2022) ![]() ![]() Location of the caves in the southern part of Avdat Photo: Yaakov Shmidov, preparation: Ofer Sion Zion et al (2022) |
As stated above, on the slope of Avdat hill there are many caves which were inhabited for living during Nabatean—Byzantine times. However, below the caves there are huge piles of rubble, which consist of debris from Avdat hill's rocks and from remains of domestic objects (pieces of Nabatean earthenware vessels, for example - T. Gini, personal communication, 1996). This fact also indicates a possible earthquake in 363 A.D. during which the collapse of inhabited caves took place. After that event ancient people cleaned out the caves and used them for living in for the second time. However, some of the caves were not cleaned after the 363 A.D. shock.- Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
Effect | Event "Previous" or 7th century |
Location | Image(s) | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
JOINTS AS AN INDICATION OF THE SEISMIC NATURE OF THE DESTRUCTIONS | 7th century | WSW external wall of the Northern Church![]() ![]() Avdat Settlement Plan Zion et al (2022) |
4
![]() ![]() Joints in western end of NNW wall of Northern Church (trend azimuth of a wall 151°). One joint on left corner crosses two blocks. Width of opening is to 1.5 cm. Trend azimuth of joint in upper block is 57-70°, in lower one is 35°. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
Joints are mode 1 (dilatation) fractures developed as a result of extension (Engelder and Fisher. 1996). Joints confined to stone breaks often appear in old buildings. Interpretation of such joints is somewhat ambiguous: they could be erected tectonically, they could also be the result of weathering, i.e., repeated heating and cooling events. In contrast, joints passing through two or more adjacent blocks (through-going joints) could be formed only under high strains. Such joints require the application of tremendous amounts of energy to overcome the stress shadows, appearing along free surfaces at the block margins (Fisher et al., 1995: Engelder, and Fisher, 1996; Becker and Gross, 1996) and therefore cannot be related to the weathering process.- Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
INCLINATION OF BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION ELEMENTS | mostly 7th century ? | various locations | 9
![]() ![]() Example of inclination and collapse of walls of the Byzantine Avdat, inclination of the lower part of a courtyard wall and collapse of the upper part, both in the same direction. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) 10 ![]() ![]() Angle of inclination of walls versus wall trends, Avdat ruins. Walls trending 40-60° have no preferential direction of inclination. In contrast, walls trending 130-140° are systematically inclined to the south. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
As in strong earthquakes throughout the world, a large number of structural elements were found to be preferentially inclined (Richter, 1958; Cloud and Scott, 1969; Bolt, 1978; Polyakov, 1978; Omuraliev et al., 1993a and others). A similar destruction was found in the ancient city of Avdat: forty one cases of preferentially inclined walls (Figures 9 and 10) and inclination of single stones within walls can be seen there. As seen in Figure 5, walls trending SE 130°-140° are systematically inclined to the SW. In contrast walls trending NE 40°-60° are inclined to NW and SE with no preferential direction. This observation seems to indicate that the seismic shock arrived along the NE—SW direction: the walls oriented roughly normal to the seismic wave direction were systematically collapsed or inclined, whereas walls oriented parallel to the seismic waves lost support, were tilted and collapsed randomly.- Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
COLLAPSE FEATURES | 7th century ? | Agricultural Fences | 11a
![]() ![]() Ruins of Byzantine agricultural fences remained on the top of Avdat hill. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) 11b ![]() ![]() Ruins of Byzantine agricultural fences remained near the foot of Avdat hill. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) 12 ![]() ![]() Direction of preferred collapse, measured at Avdat, as a function of wall directions. A single group of collapse directions has been observed. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) 13 ![]() ![]() Drag because of wall collapse in Avdat (a) model of the drag (b) diagram of drag cases in Avdat archaeological site. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
Numerous ruins of agricultural fences remained on the top (Figure 11(a)) and near the foot of the Avdat hill (Figure 11(b)). The fences trending about EW reveal a clear systematic picture of the collapse: the lower part of the wall is intact (easily seen from its northern side), whereas the upper part of the fences fell southward (see Figure 11). Azimuth of preferred collapsed features are plotted in Figure 12 versus wall trend. One group of walls trending SE 90°-140° reveals collapse toward SW 180°-240°, whereas walls oriented in other directions fell on both sides of the original wall position, they did not show a systematic pattern of the collapse, and so they were not shown on the graph. This observation indicates that the direction of seismic wave propagation was roughly perpendicular to the SE-trending walls.- Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
ROTATION OF BUILDING ELEMENTS | 7th century ? | Avdat Tower and wall in the southern quarter![]() ![]() Avdat Settlement Plan Zion et al (2022) |
13
![]() ![]() Drag because of wall collapse in Avdat (a) model of the drag (b) diagram of drag cases in Avdat archaeological site. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) 14a ![]() ![]() Counterclockwise rotation of whole fragment of the wall in Southern Quarter, Avdat Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) 14b ![]() ![]() Clockwise rotation in SW wall of the Avdat Tower. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) 15 ![]() ![]() Rotation of stones and walls in Avdat archaeological site. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
Field study of the epicentral zones of the well-known strong earthquakes revealed that some building constructions or rock fragments were rotated clockwise, whereas others were rotated counterclockwise (Richter, 1958; Cloud and Scott, 1969; Bolt, 1978: Polyakov, 1978; Omuraliev et al., 1993b and others). Horizontal rotation of arch supports, separate blocks in arch supports and walls, or rotation of a large fragment of a wall with tens to hundreds of stones were measured in the ruins of Avdat town. Clockwise and counterclockwise patterns of rotation were observed. Some examples of the rotated elements are shown in Figure 14.- Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
In surveys conducted in 1994 and 1996,
Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) examined hundreds of deformation features and selected 41 measurements of wall inclinations,
26 of wall collapse, 17 of block rotations, and 96 cases of through-going fractures, where [they] were certain of the non-static origin of dislocations.
They divided the features of seismic destruction
into 2 groups based on diagnostic use.
Effect | Event "Previous" or 7th century |
Location | Image(s) | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
JOINTS AS AN INDICATION OF THE SEISMIC NATURE OF THE DESTRUCTIONS | 7th century | Northern Church | 4
![]() ![]() Joints in western end of NNW wall of Northern Church (trend azimuth of a wall 151°). One joint on left corner crosses two blocks. Width of opening is to 1.5 cm. Trend azimuth of joint in upper block is 57-70°, in lower one is 35°. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
Joints are mode 1 (dilatation) fractures developed as a result of extension (Engelder and Fisher. 1996). Joints confined to stone breaks often appear in old buildings. Interpretation of such joints is somewhat ambiguous: they could be erected tectonically, they could also be the result of weathering, i.e., repeated heating and cooling events. In contrast, joints passing through two or more adjacent blocks (through-going joints) could be formed only under high strains. Such joints require the application of tremendous amounts of energy to overcome the stress shadows, appearing along free surfaces at the block margins (Fisher et al., 1995: Engelder, and Fisher, 1996; Becker and Gross, 1996) and therefore cannot be related to the weathering process. |
TREND DISCORDANCE OF FIRST LOWER ROWS OF MASONRY WITH UPPER WALL FRAGMENTS, AND TREND DEVIATION FROM PERPENDICULAR OF WALLS JOINING EACH OTHER | "Previous" | Room 10 of Court in South Quarter | 3
![]() ![]() Detailed plan of one court in the South Quarter (after Fabian, 1997, with modifications). Area of the court is shaded in Figure 2.
Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) 5 ![]() ![]() Counterclockwise rotation of whole western wall of room No. 10 of the court (see Figure 4). Its former position - preserved fundamental row - is shown by pointers. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
Strange discordance of trends of first lower rows of masonry (usually one or two rows) and upper wall fragments is visible in some parts of Avdat. For example, there is counterclockwise rotation of the whole NW wall of room No. 10 of the court (see, Figure 3). Horizontal displacement was 45 cm. During rotation around the vertical axis the NW wall was not collapsed and townsmen, who settled there after the 363 A.D. shock, used the rotated wall for rebuilding (Fabian 1996, 1997). The original trend of the wall was 50°, preserved first and second lower rows testify about that building (Figure 5). Modern trend azimuth of rotated wall is 41°. |
SHIFTING OF UPPER PRESERVED FRAGMENTS OF WALLS AS COMPARED WITH LOWER ROWS OF STONES | "Previous" | Room 8 of Court in South Quarter | 3
![]() ![]() Detailed plan of one court in the South Quarter (after Fabian, 1997, with modifications). Area of the court is shaded in Figure 2.
Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) 6 ![]() ![]() Displacement to WNW of wall fragment of room No. 8 of the court (see Figure 3). Its former position is shown by pointers. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
The shift of the building elements without rotation may be used in a similar manner to wall inclination or block collapse. The upper element of a construction is shifted toward or away from an epicenter due to inertia. In the Avdat such a displacement, of 80 cm, can be observed for the upper fragment of the NW wall of room No. 8 of the court (see, Figure 3) in a NW direction (Figure 6). Its former position (trend azimuth is 41°) is marked by one stone row of 20 cm height. The width of the shifted wall fragment is 70 cm, length is 165 cm, height of preserved fragment is 55-60 cm, its trend azimuth is 45°. |
NONCOINCIDENCE OF LOWER STONE ROWS WITH UPPER BUILDING STRUCTURES | "Previous" | N yard of bath-house | 7a
![]() ![]() Noncoincidence of lower most stone rows and upper fragments of wall in the northern yard of bath-house situated near Avdat hill foot. (a) View to northern yard corner Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) 7b ![]() ![]() Noncoincidence of lower most stone rows and upper fragments of wall in the northern yard of bath-house situated near Avdat hill foot.>br> (b) NW external wall of yard, lower most stone row is continuing to NW "without reason" (field notebook is on it). The bath-house is on the background. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
Additional indirect evidence of possible seismic activity in the studied territory is non-coincidence of lower stone rows with upper building structures. Such patterns occurred when a building was partly destroyed during an earthquake, but ancient people decided not to restore it. They removed still standing preserved fragments of the destroyed building and smoothed out the piles of rubble. They built a new building on the site of the old one. Later, during recent archeological excavations, researchers discovered strange non-coincidence of lower stone rows with upper building structures (Fabian, 1996, 1997). |
SUPPORT-WALLS | "Previous" | Southern Church | 8
![]() ![]() Support-wall was built for support of eastern corner of Southern Church. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
Indirect evidence of more old shocks are special support-walls which were built solely for this purpose. One such wall was built to support the eastern corner of the Southern Church (P. Fabian, 1994, personal communication). The wall which needed support had an ENE trend (Figure 8). One more support-wall was built to support the external wall (with NE strike) of the South Quarter of the town, opposite the eastern corner of the Fort, later it was dismantled by archeologists during excavation (P. Fabian, personal communication, 1996). This building of supporting walls for city walls of the same trend is not isolated. Apparently, during the Roman earthquake these city walls were slightly tilted, but they were not collapsed. Ancient people built those support-walls specifically to prevent them from possible future collapse (Fabian, 1996, 1997). |
CAVE DESTRUCTIONS | "Previous" | Caves | As stated above, on the slope of Avdat hill there are many caves which were inhabited for living during Nabatean—Byzantine times. However, below the caves there are huge piles of rubble, which consist of debris from Avdat hill's rocks and from remains of domestic objects (pieces of Nabatean earthenware vessels, for example - T. Gini, personal communication, 1996). This fact also indicates a possible earthquake in 363 A.D. during which the collapse of inhabited caves took place. After that event ancient people cleaned out the caves and used them for living in for the second time. However, some of the caves were not cleaned after the 363 A.D. shock. |
|
INCLINATION OF BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION ELEMENTS | mostly 7th century ? | various locations | 9
![]() ![]() Example of inclination and collapse of walls of the Byzantine Avdat, inclination of the lower part of a courtyard wall and collapse of the upper part, both in the same direction. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) 10 ![]() ![]() Angle of inclination of walls versus wall trends, Avdat ruins. Walls trending 40-60° have no preferential direction of inclination. In contrast, walls trending 130-140° are systematically inclined to the south. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
As in strong earthquakes throughout the world, a large number of structural elements were found to be preferentially inclined (Richter, 1958; Cloud and Scott, 1969; Bolt, 1978; Polyakov, 1978; Omuraliev et al., 1993a and others). A similar destruction was found in the ancient city of Avdat: forty one cases of preferentially inclined walls (Figures 9 and 10) and inclination of single stones within walls can be seen there. As seen in Figure 5, walls trending SE 130°-140° are systematically inclined to the SW. In contrast walls trending NE 40°-60° are inclined to NW and SE with no preferential direction. This observation seems to indicate that the seismic shock arrived along the NE—SW direction: the walls oriented roughly normal to the seismic wave direction were systematically collapsed or inclined, whereas walls oriented parallel to the seismic waves lost support, were tilted and collapsed randomly. |
COLLAPSE FEATURES | 7th century ? | Agricultural Fences | 11a
![]() ![]() Ruins of Byzantine agricultural fences remained on the top of Avdat hill. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) 11b ![]() ![]() Ruins of Byzantine agricultural fences remained near the foot of Avdat hill. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) 12 ![]() ![]() Direction of preferred collapse, measured at Avdat, as a function of wall directions. A single group of collapse directions has been observed. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) 13 ![]() ![]() Drag because of wall collapse in Avdat (a) model of the drag (b) diagram of drag cases in Avdat archaeological site. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
Numerous ruins of agricultural fences remained on the top (Figure 11(a)) and near the foot of the Avdat hill (Figure 11(b)). The fences trending about EW reveal a clear systematic picture of the collapse: the lower part of the wall is intact (easily seen from its northern side), whereas the upper part of the fences fell southward (see Figure 11). Azimuth of preferred collapsed features are plotted in Figure 12 versus wall trend. One group of walls trending SE 90°-140° reveals collapse toward SW 180°-240°, whereas walls oriented in other directions fell on both sides of the original wall position, they did not show a systematic pattern of the collapse, and so they were not shown on the graph. This observation indicates that the direction of seismic wave propagation was roughly perpendicular to the SE-trending walls. |
ROTATION OF BUILDING ELEMENTS | 7th century ? | various locations | 13
![]() ![]() Drag because of wall collapse in Avdat (a) model of the drag (b) diagram of drag cases in Avdat archaeological site. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) 14a ![]() ![]() Counterclockwise rotation of whole fragment of the wall in Southern Quarter, Avdat Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) 14b ![]() ![]() Clockwise rotation in SW wall of the Avdat Tower. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) 15 ![]() ![]() Rotation of stones and walls in Avdat archaeological site. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
Field study of the epicentral zones of the well-known strong earthquakes revealed that some building constructions or rock fragments were rotated clockwise, whereas others were rotated counterclockwise (Richter, 1958; Cloud and Scott, 1969; Bolt, 1978: Polyakov, 1978; Omuraliev et al., 1993b and others). Horizontal rotation of arch supports, separate blocks in arch supports and walls, or rotation of a large fragment of a wall with tens to hundreds of stones were measured in the ruins of Avdat town. Clockwise and counterclockwise patterns of rotation were observed. Some examples of the rotated elements are shown in Figure 14. |
Study of the destruction in the Avdat ruins reveals a systematic type of dislocation:
Effect | Location | Image(s) | Comments | Intensity |
---|---|---|---|---|
Collapsed Vaults | Caves in the slopes adjacent to the Avdat Acropolis![]() ![]() Location of the caves in the northern part of Avdat, looking east Photo: Yaakov Shmidov, preparation: Ofer Sion Zion et al (2022) ![]() ![]() Location of the caves in the southern part of Avdat Photo: Yaakov Shmidov, preparation: Ofer Sion Zion et al (2022) |
numerous collapses of walls and cave vaults- Zion et al (2022) |
VIII + | |
Collapsed Walls | Caves in the slopes adjacent to the Avdat Acropolis![]() ![]() Location of the caves in the northern part of Avdat, looking east Photo: Yaakov Shmidov, preparation: Ofer Sion Zion et al (2022) ![]() ![]() Location of the caves in the southern part of Avdat Photo: Yaakov Shmidov, preparation: Ofer Sion Zion et al (2022) |
numerous collapses of walls and cave vaults- Zion et al (2022) |
VIII + | |
Collapsed Walls | Room 7 of Late Roman/Early Byzantine quarter![]() ![]() Stern et al (2008) |
|
VIII + | |
Displaced walls surmised from blocked doorways (the blockage shoring up weakened walls) | Rooms 4, 7, 17 of Late Roman/Early Byzantine quarter![]() ![]() Stern et al (2008) |
|
VII + |
Effect | Event "Previous" or 7th century |
Location | Image(s) | Comments | Intensity |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Displaced Walls - TREND DISCORDANCE OF FIRST LOWER ROWS OF MASONRY WITH UPPER WALL FRAGMENTS, AND TREND DEVIATION FROM PERPENDICULAR OF WALLS JOINING EACH OTHER | "Previous" | Room 10 of Court in South Quarter![]() ![]() Detailed plan of one court in the South Quarter (after Fabian, 1997, with modifications). Area of the court is shaded in Figure 2.
Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
5
![]() ![]() Counterclockwise rotation of whole western wall of room No. 10 of the court (see Figure 4). Its former position - preserved fundamental row - is shown by pointers. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
Strange discordance of trends of first lower rows of masonry (usually one or two rows) and upper wall fragments is visible in some parts of Avdat. For example, there is counterclockwise rotation of the whole NW wall of room No. 10 of the court (see, Figure 3). Horizontal displacement was 45 cm. During rotation around the vertical axis the NW wall was not collapsed and townsmen, who settled there after the 363 A.D. shock, used the rotated wall for rebuilding (Fabian 1996, 1997). The original trend of the wall was 50°, preserved first and second lower rows testify about that building (Figure 5). Modern trend azimuth of rotated wall is 41°.- Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
VII+ |
Displaced walls - SHIFTING OF UPPER PRESERVED FRAGMENTS OF WALLS AS COMPARED WITH LOWER ROWS OF STONES | "Previous" | Room 8 of Court in South Quarter![]() ![]() Detailed plan of one court in the South Quarter (after Fabian, 1997, with modifications). Area of the court is shaded in Figure 2.
Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
6
![]() ![]() Displacement to WNW of wall fragment of room No. 8 of the court (see Figure 3). Its former position is shown by pointers. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
The shift of the building elements without rotation may be used in a similar manner to wall inclination or block collapse. The upper element of a construction is shifted toward or away from an epicenter due to inertia. In the Avdat such a displacement, of 80 cm, can be observed for the upper fragment of the NW wall of room No. 8 of the court (see, Figure 3) in a NW direction (Figure 6). Its former position (trend azimuth is 41°) is marked by one stone row of 20 cm height. The width of the shifted wall fragment is 70 cm, length is 165 cm, height of preserved fragment is 55-60 cm, its trend azimuth is 45°.- Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
VII+ |
Displaced walls - NONCOINCIDENCE OF LOWER STONE ROWS WITH UPPER BUILDING STRUCTURES | "Previous" | N yard of bath-house | 7a
![]() ![]() Noncoincidence of lower most stone rows and upper fragments of wall in the northern yard of bath-house situated near Avdat hill foot. (a) View to northern yard corner Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) 7b ![]() ![]() Noncoincidence of lower most stone rows and upper fragments of wall in the northern yard of bath-house situated near Avdat hill foot.>br> (b) NW external wall of yard, lower most stone row is continuing to NW "without reason" (field notebook is on it). The bath-house is on the background. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
Additional indirect evidence of possible seismic activity in the studied territory is non-coincidence of lower stone rows with upper building structures. Such patterns occurred when a building was partly destroyed during an earthquake, but ancient people decided not to restore it. They removed still standing preserved fragments of the destroyed building and smoothed out the piles of rubble. They built a new building on the site of the old one. Later, during recent archeological excavations, researchers discovered strange non-coincidence of lower stone rows with upper building structures (Fabian, 1996, 1997).- Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
VII+ |
Tilted Walls - SUPPORT-WALLS | "Previous" | Southern Church![]() ![]() Avdat Settlement Plan Zion et al (2022) |
8
![]() ![]() Support-wall was built for support of eastern corner of Southern Church. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
Indirect evidence of more old shocks are special support-walls which were built solely for this purpose. One such wall was built to support the eastern corner of the Southern Church (P. Fabian, 1994, personal communication). The wall which needed support had an ENE trend (Figure 8). One more support-wall was built to support the external wall (with NE strike) of the South Quarter of the town, opposite the eastern corner of the Fort, later it was dismantled by archeologists during excavation (P. Fabian, personal communication, 1996). This building of supporting walls for city walls of the same trend is not isolated. Apparently, during the Roman earthquake these city walls were slightly tilted, but they were not collapsed. Ancient people built those support-walls specifically to prevent them from possible future collapse (Fabian, 1996, 1997).- Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
VI+ |
Collapsed Walls and Collapsed Vaults - CAVE DESTRUCTIONS | "Previous" | Caves![]() ![]() Location of the caves in the northern part of Avdat, looking east Photo: Yaakov Shmidov, preparation: Ofer Sion Zion et al (2022) ![]() ![]() Location of the caves in the southern part of Avdat Photo: Yaakov Shmidov, preparation: Ofer Sion Zion et al (2022) |
As stated above, on the slope of Avdat hill there are many caves which were inhabited for living during Nabatean—Byzantine times. However, below the caves there are huge piles of rubble, which consist of debris from Avdat hill's rocks and from remains of domestic objects (pieces of Nabatean earthenware vessels, for example - T. Gini, personal communication, 1996). This fact also indicates a possible earthquake in 363 A.D. during which the collapse of inhabited caves took place. After that event ancient people cleaned out the caves and used them for living in for the second time. However, some of the caves were not cleaned after the 363 A.D. shock.- Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
VIII+ |
Effect | Event "Previous" or 7th century |
Location | Image(s) | Comments | Intensity |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Penetrative fractures in masonry blocks - JOINTS AS AN INDICATION OF THE SEISMIC NATURE OF THE DESTRUCTIONS | 7th century | WSW external wall of the Northern Church![]() ![]() Avdat Settlement Plan Zion et al (2022) |
4
![]() ![]() Joints in western end of NNW wall of Northern Church (trend azimuth of a wall 151°). One joint on left corner crosses two blocks. Width of opening is to 1.5 cm. Trend azimuth of joint in upper block is 57-70°, in lower one is 35°. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
Joints are mode 1 (dilatation) fractures developed as a result of extension (Engelder and Fisher. 1996). Joints confined to stone breaks often appear in old buildings. Interpretation of such joints is somewhat ambiguous: they could be erected tectonically, they could also be the result of weathering, i.e., repeated heating and cooling events. In contrast, joints passing through two or more adjacent blocks (through-going joints) could be formed only under high strains. Such joints require the application of tremendous amounts of energy to overcome the stress shadows, appearing along free surfaces at the block margins (Fisher et al., 1995: Engelder, and Fisher, 1996; Becker and Gross, 1996) and therefore cannot be related to the weathering process.- Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
VI + |
Tilted and Collapsed Walls - INCLINATION OF BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION ELEMENTS | mostly 7th century ? | various locations | 9
![]() ![]() Example of inclination and collapse of walls of the Byzantine Avdat, inclination of the lower part of a courtyard wall and collapse of the upper part, both in the same direction. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) 10 ![]() ![]() Angle of inclination of walls versus wall trends, Avdat ruins. Walls trending 40-60° have no preferential direction of inclination. In contrast, walls trending 130-140° are systematically inclined to the south. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
As in strong earthquakes throughout the world, a large number of structural elements were found to be preferentially inclined (Richter, 1958; Cloud and Scott, 1969; Bolt, 1978; Polyakov, 1978; Omuraliev et al., 1993a and others). A similar destruction was found in the ancient city of Avdat: forty one cases of preferentially inclined walls (Figures 9 and 10) and inclination of single stones within walls can be seen there. As seen in Figure 5, walls trending SE 130°-140° are systematically inclined to the SW. In contrast walls trending NE 40°-60° are inclined to NW and SE with no preferential direction. This observation seems to indicate that the seismic shock arrived along the NE—SW direction: the walls oriented roughly normal to the seismic wave direction were systematically collapsed or inclined, whereas walls oriented parallel to the seismic waves lost support, were tilted and collapsed randomly.- Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
VIII+ |
Collapsed walls - COLLAPSE FEATURES | 7th century ? | Agricultural Fences | 11a
![]() ![]() Ruins of Byzantine agricultural fences remained on the top of Avdat hill. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) 11b ![]() ![]() Ruins of Byzantine agricultural fences remained near the foot of Avdat hill. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) 12 ![]() ![]() Direction of preferred collapse, measured at Avdat, as a function of wall directions. A single group of collapse directions has been observed. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) 13 ![]() ![]() Drag because of wall collapse in Avdat (a) model of the drag (b) diagram of drag cases in Avdat archaeological site. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
Numerous ruins of agricultural fences remained on the top (Figure 11(a)) and near the foot of the Avdat hill (Figure 11(b)). The fences trending about EW reveal a clear systematic picture of the collapse: the lower part of the wall is intact (easily seen from its northern side), whereas the upper part of the fences fell southward (see Figure 11). Azimuth of preferred collapsed features are plotted in Figure 12 versus wall trend. One group of walls trending SE 90°-140° reveals collapse toward SW 180°-240°, whereas walls oriented in other directions fell on both sides of the original wall position, they did not show a systematic pattern of the collapse, and so they were not shown on the graph. This observation indicates that the direction of seismic wave propagation was roughly perpendicular to the SE-trending walls.- Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
VIII+ |
Displaced Masonry Blocks - ROTATION OF BUILDING ELEMENTS | 7th century ? | Avdat Tower and wall in the southern quarter![]() ![]() Avdat Settlement Plan Zion et al (2022) |
13
![]() ![]() Drag because of wall collapse in Avdat (a) model of the drag (b) diagram of drag cases in Avdat archaeological site. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) 14a ![]() ![]() Counterclockwise rotation of whole fragment of the wall in Southern Quarter, Avdat Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) 14b ![]() ![]() Clockwise rotation in SW wall of the Avdat Tower. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) 15 ![]() ![]() Rotation of stones and walls in Avdat archaeological site. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
Field study of the epicentral zones of the well-known strong earthquakes revealed that some building constructions or rock fragments were rotated clockwise, whereas others were rotated counterclockwise (Richter, 1958; Cloud and Scott, 1969; Bolt, 1978: Polyakov, 1978; Omuraliev et al., 1993b and others). Horizontal rotation of arch supports, separate blocks in arch supports and walls, or rotation of a large fragment of a wall with tens to hundreds of stones were measured in the ruins of Avdat town. Clockwise and counterclockwise patterns of rotation were observed. Some examples of the rotated elements are shown in Figure 14.- Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) |
VIII+ |
As mentioned previously, Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) were able to sort a number of seismic effects by earthquake event - distinguishing whether the observed damage was due to the 7th century earthquake or one of the "previous" earthquakes (i.e the southern Cyril Quake of 363 CE and/or the 5th century CE earthquake). As such, one can have confidence in the Intensity estimate Korjenkov and Mazor (1999) produced for the 7th century earthquake. Korjenkov and Mazor (1999)'s conclusion for the 7th century CE earthquake is that
The destruction was caused by a compressional seismic wave, the epicenter was located SSW of Avdat somewhere in central Negev, and the degree of town destruction [] according to Seismic Intensity Scale MSK-64 was IX-X.
The tower, dated to 294 AD, was founded directly on bedrock, and has risen to a height of 12 m, from which only 6 m are left standing today. (Kamai and Hatzor, 2005 citing Negev, 1997). The best-fit simulation (Fig. 16A) was run with the following seismic parameters:
Variable | Input | Units | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
g | Peak Horizontal Ground Acceleration | ||
Variable | Output - Site Effect not considered | Units | Notes |
unitless | Conversion from PGA to Intensity using Wald et al (1999) |
Model was run in qk.mode
using a sinusoidal input function. The authors noted that in the case of Avdat
the obtained ground-motion parameters may be higher than reasonably expected (e.g. l g at Avdat)
. Therefore, they
do not argue at this stage for exact historical ground motion restoration.
Soil-structure and rock-structure interactions
were not part of the analysis and considering that Avdat may be subject to a ridge effect, 1 g could be reasonable and could explain the
unusual wall bulge at the Roman Tower at Avdat which appears to have been generated by a significant seismic force.
Although the authors date this seismic effect to the 3rd or 4th century CE,
Erickson-Gini (2014)'s characterization of the 363 CE earthquake as causing the least damage to the site of the 4 recognized
earthquakes suggests that this is not the case.
Property | Value | Units |
---|---|---|
Density | 2555 | kg./m3 |
Porosity | 5 | % |
Dynamic Young's Modulus | 54.2 | Gpa |
Dynamic Shear Modulus | 20.4 | Gpa |
Dynamic Poisson's Ratio | 0.33 | unitless |
Interface friction angle | 35 | degrees |
Korjenkov and Mazor (1999)
did not produce an Intensity or directional estimate for any of the earthquakes that preceded the 7th century CE event.
However, by making use of their detailed descriptions of
seismic effects and the Earthquake Archeological Effects chart, I produced Intensity estimates for both the 7th century CE earthquake and the "previous" one.
"Previous" earthquake seismic effects were presumed to come from seismic effects associated with rebuilding as limited rebuilding should be associated with the 7th
century earthquake. Although
Bucking et al (2022) produced evidence of Umayyad and Abbasid occupation on the slopes below the acropolis, the upper acropolis area may have been destroyed and largely abandoned
as archaeologists (e.g. Peter Fabian) have posited in the past. Although I cannot rigorously distinguish whether my "previous" earthquake Intensity estimate is for the southern
Cyril Quake of 363 CE or the early 5th century CE earthquake, if
Erickson-Gini, T. (2014) is correct that the
southern Cyril Quake only caused some structural
damage
and the 5th century earthquake was massive
, my Intensity estimate for the "previous" earthquake is likely effectively for the 5th century quake.
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Description | Image | Reference |
---|---|---|
Caves on north slope |
![]() ![]() Location of the caves in the northern part of Avdat, looking east Photo: Yaakov Shmidov, preparation: Ofer Sion Zion et al (2022) |
Fig. 4 - Zion et al (2022) |
Caves on south slope |
![]() ![]() Location of the caves in the southern part of Avdat Photo: Yaakov Shmidov, preparation: Ofer Sion Zion et al (2022) |
Fig. 5 - Zion et al (2022) |
Caves Plans North 1 |
![]() ![]() Cave plans North 1 Measurements: Tali Erickson-Gini, drawing: Ofer Sion, Yelena Delerson Zion et al (2022) |
Fig. 6 - Zion et al (2022) |
Caves Plans North 1 |
![]() ![]() Cave plans North 1 Measurements: Tali Erickson-Gini, drawing: Ofer Sion, Yelena Delerson Zion et al (2022) |
Fig. 7 - Zion et al (2022) |
Caves Plans North 2 |
![]() ![]() Cave plans North 2 Measurements: Tali Erickson-Gini, drawing: Ofer Sion, Yelena Delerson Zion et al (2022)Zion et al (2022) |
Fig. 8 - Zion et al (2022) |
Caves Plans South 2 |
![]() ![]() Cave plans South 2 Measurements: Tali Erickson-Gini, drawing: Ofer Sion, Yelena Delerson Zion et al (2022) |
Fig. 9 - Zion et al (2022) |
Caves Plans South 1 |
![]() ![]() Cave plans South 1 Measurements: Tali Erickson-Gini, drawing: Ofer Sion, Yelena Delerson Zion et al (2022) |
Fig. 10 - Zion et al (2022) |
Caves Plans South 2 |
![]() ![]() Cave plans South 2 Measurements: Tali Erickson-Gini, drawing: Ofer Sion, Yelena Delerson Zion et al (2022) |
Fig. 11 - Zion et al (2022) |
Caves Plans South 2 |
![]() ![]() Cave plans South 2 Measurements: Tali Erickson-Gini, drawing: Ofer Sion, Yelena Delerson Zion et al (2022) |
Fig. 12 - Zion et al (2022) |
Aerial view of the southern slope |
![]() ![]() Aerial view of the southern slope at Avdat after the 2018 season, with inset showing final excavation of the southern compound after 2019 season (photograph by E. Alajem; inset by S. Bucking) Bucking et al (2022) |
Fig. 2 - Bucking et al (2022) |
At Avdat, an imperial coin struck at Alexandria and tentatively identified as Trajanic was apparently found in association with the collapse of the potter's workshop (Negev, 1974:24).Ambraseys (2009) supplied the following comments:
Negev argues instead that these destructions were caused by invading Safaitic and Thamudic hordes in the mid first century (Negev 1976), basing his thesis on the period of pottery debris found in a workshop at Oboda. This solution might seem preferable, since it is best not to assume an earthquake unless there is written evidence for it. However, apart from the complexity of the multiple dates of the pottery discovered by Negev (and the fact that later potters often imitated earlier styles), the appearance of a second-century coin among the pottery (Russell 1981, 8) seems to refute his thesis. Of course, this coin does not prove that Oboda was destroyed by an earthquake; it merely shows that Negev has made a mistake. What may suggest an earthquake is the sheer severity and extent of the destruction. Russell believes that neither a Roman annexation of the territory nor sacking by Safaitic or Thamudic hordes could, in any case, have done so much damage.Negev (1976:229) states
Several years ago I suggested, on account of the results of the excavations at Oboda, a new chronological division for the archaeological history of the Nabateans in the central Negev, based on three phases, focusing at that time my attention on what I named the Middle Nabatean Period. The archaeological data indicated that this period, which began at the end of the reign of Obodas II, terminated abruptly during the generation following the death of Aretas IV, after the middle of the first century CE. I attributed the destruction of Oboda and several road stations along the Petra-Gaza road to attacks of Arab tribes who penetrated from Arabia, and left their imprints in the thousands of Safaitic and Thamudic graffiti in the central Negev, to the east of the Arabah, and also in northern Arabia itself.Goren and Fabian (2008) re-examined the so-called Potter's workshop at Avdat/Oboda and concluded that it was probably a 2nd to early 3rd century CE mill-bakery in the Roman Quarter of town. They noted, among other things, that the original excavations by Negev of the "Potter's workshop" were in unstratified deposits, had coins dating from Hellenistic to the 3rd-4th centuries CE, and geochemical and minerological analysis indicated that the pottery found there appeared to be imported rather than made locally. This suggests that Negev's original hypothesis that the so-called Potter's workshop at Avdat/Oboda showed a break in occupation in the 1st century CE due to invasion (as Negev suggested) or an earthquake (as Russell (1985) proposed) is not supported by the evidence.
The evidence on which I based this chronological scheme was purely archaeological — pottery and coins under a destruction layer, and on the basis of the finds in the Nabatean potter's workshop at Oboda 145 which all pointed to a break in the settlement of the central Negev sometime after the middle of the first century CE.
Negev (1961) identified several phases of occupation at Avdat one of which, dated by inscriptions, began in the third century CE. Negev (1961: 126) noted that during this Late Roman/Byzantine occupation phase, the retaining walls were "probably shattered by a strong earthquake" and were repaired by "adding a second, rounded wall, screening the original one". A precise date for the archeoseismic damage was not supplied.