Meyers, Strange, Meyers, and Hanson (1979) report strong evidence for destruction at the end of VIb due to the
northern Cyril Quake of 363 CE.
Their discussion of archeoseismic evidence follows:
Therefore a second phase - VIb - of Late
Roman occupation, after this seismic event, is
postulated. This second Late Roman phase is also
terminated by an earthquake, no doubt in A.D. 362.
The coin evidence for this terminus is extremely
illuminating, inasmuch as the earliest preserved
surfaces of the western corridor contain coins
which may extend at the latest until A.D. 365.
Equally important, the ceramic repertoire from
VIb corresponds precisely to that of Meiron
Stratum IV and Khirbet Shema Stratum IV. In
other words, there is a clear continuity in the
ceramic tradition here, unmistakably late Roman.
Whereas Stratum VIa contains many 3rd-century
Middle Roman forms, these forms virtually
disappear in VIb.
Stratum VII, representing the Byzantine period,
thus begins after the 362 earthquake and is characterized by significant localized repairs made within
the building.
Their misdating of the
Cyril Quake to 362 AD is a mistake frequently found in older papers. Their mention
of coins from the Western corridor extending "at the latest until 365 AD" is somewhat problematic as this coincides with the date of the
Crete Earthquake of 365 AD. The epicenter of this earthquake was too far away to have
produced archeoseismic damage at Gush Halav so this will be left as a numismatic mystery which does not infringe badly on their chronology. The biggest potential problem with
their chronology is it is debated.
Magness (2001a) performed a detailed examination of the stratigraphy
presented in the final report of (
Meyers, Meyers, and Strange (1990)) and concluded, based on numismatic and ceramic evidence,
that a synagogue was not built on the site until no earlier than the second half of the fifth century. While she agreed that earthquake destruction evidence was present in the excavation,
she dated the destruction evidence to some time after abandonment of the site in the 7th or 8th centuries AD.
Strange (2001) and
Meyers (2001) went on to rebut Magness (2001a) to which
Magness (2001b) responded again.
Netzer (1996) reviewed the original archaeological reports and although he agreed with the
original dating of the material remains, he concluded that only one synagogue was constructed at Gush Halav
and it was constructed in the first half of the 4th century CE. He further concluded that the seismic destruction of this synagogue dates to
the
551 CE Beirut Quake. He did not interpret destruction in 363 CE that left a mark in the material remains.
Eric M. Meyers in Stern et al (1993) also discussed this earthquake
The second building period thus witnessed no major modification [for] the
plan of the building. However, stratigraphic assessment of the data indicates
quite clearly that great effort was made to reinforce corners, stylobates, and
walls. The debris buildup in the western corridor in particular demonstrates
how soon after the great 363 CE earthquake the basilica was reused. Many
architectural fragments were then reused, and a smaller bema replaced the
earlier and larger one on the southwest
interior of the southern facade wall.