Meyers, Strange, Meyers, and Hanson (1979) attributed the destruction at the end of Stratum VIIb to the 551 CE Beirut Quake, though their chronological framework has been questioned. Magness (2001a) re-examined the stratigraphy published in Meyers, Meyers, and Strange (1990) and, on the basis of numismatic and ceramic evidence, concluded that a synagogue was not constructed on the site before the latter half of the fifth century CE. She agreed that the excavators had uncovered evidence of earthquake destruction but argued that this destruction occurred only after the site’s abandonment in the seventh or eighth centuries. Strange (2001) and Meyers (2001) subsequently rebutted Magness (2001a), prompting a further reply in Magness (2001b). Despite chronological disagreements, all parties acknowledged that genuine earthquake destruction is evident. Given the site’s location and the magnitude of the 551 CE Beirut Quake, an association with that event remains plausible, though the excavation’s dating uncertainties prevent a firm correlation.

Netzer (1996) reviewed the original reports and, while accepting the dating of the material remains, concluded that only one synagogue was constructed at Gush Halav — in the first half of the 4th century CE — and that its destruction should be attributed to the 551 CE Beirut Quake. He found no evidence for seismic damage from the northern Cyril Quake of 363 CE in the material record.