1st Earthquake
Godwin in Parker (2006:281–285) recorded nearly two meters of
collapsed masonry above floor T.7:007 in room T.7 at Da'Janiya,
resulting from the failure of the
curtain wall
and adjoining walls. The collapse debris was divided into three
distinct tumble layers (T.7:006, T.7:002, T.7:001), possibly
reflecting more than one seismic destruction episode.
Godwin in Parker (2006) attempted to date only
the lowest of these layers.
The lowest layer, T.7:006, consisted of dense basalt tumble and a
substantial Late Roman to Early Byzantine ceramic assemblage,
establishing a
terminus post quem
in the fifth century CE. A coin from floor T.6:007—interpreted
as stratigraphically equivalent to the beaten earth floor
T.7:007 directly beneath the lowest tumble—was dated to
324–491 CE and corroborates this terminus post quem.
The overlying layers (T.7:002 and T.7:001) record continued wall collapse but
contain only scant or unidentifiable ceramics, preventing a firm
terminus ante quem
assignment. However, if the second destruction phase [aka the 2nd Earthquake] corresponds
to the late sixth-century Inscription at Areopolis Quake,
a broad terminus ante quem in the late sixth century CE may
be inferred.
Godwin in Parker (2006) attributed the destruction to the distant
502 CE Fire in the Sky Quake,
but this assignment is implausible given the intensity required
to produce such structural collapse at Da'Janiya and the distance to the epicenter. A more
realistic interpretation might link the seismic damage to the
~500 CE Negev Quake, whose
epicentral region better explains both the magnitude of
destruction and the stratigraphic sequence observed at the site.
Fig. 14.9