Foundation Bowl Earthquake Open site page in a new tab
Korzhenkov and Erickson-Gini (2003) dated the destruction from excavation finds. A terminus post quem was provided by a 3rd-century BCE Hellenistic incurved bowl found buried beneath a room’s dirt floor, likely as a Nabataean foundation deposit — a practice observed in Nabataean architecture at Ein Rahel, Mampsis, and Petra. Since the site was abandoned before it was ever occupied, apparently due to the earthquake, the 3rd-century BCE Hellenistic incurved bowl also serves as a terminus ante quem and the earthquake dated to the 3rd-century BCE.

By Jefferson Williams