Introduction
Jason's Tomb, located west of the Old City,
was discovered in 1956 in the
Rehavia neighborhood of Jerusalem. Based on finds
found inside the tomb, it's initial construction is dated to the beginning of the first century BCE and it's use continued until the
1st century CE until it was sealed in 30/31 CE (
Rahmani, 1964:99). Based on charcoal
drawings and inscriptions, it is presumed to be the the tomb of a previously unknown personage named Jason.
(Stern et al, 1993)
Chronology
31 BCE Earthquake and/or 31 CE Earthquake
Rahmani(1964:98-99)
interpreted the collapse of “structured parts” of Jason’s Tomb in Jerusalem to be due to the 31 BCE earthquake. He noted the presence of Herodian remains (mainly oil lamps)
on a plaster floor beneath earthquake debris. Since Herod conquered Jerusalem in 37 BCE and
Rahmani (1964) dates sealing of the tomb to 30/31 CE, it was presumed that the responsible earthquake was the only one that Rahmani (1964) was aware of at that time –
the Josephus Quake of 31 BCE.
However, since then evidence for the Jerusalem Quake of 26-36 CE has come to light
making the Jerusalem Quake another possible candidate for the collapse debris. If the Jerusalem Quake did cause archeoseismic damage to Jason’s Tomb, it may have added additional debris rather
than being responsible for the original debris.
Seismic Effects
31 BCE Earthquake and/or 31 CE Earthquake
Rahmani(1964:98-99) interpreted the collapse of “structured parts” of Jason’s Tomb in Jerusalem.
Intensity Estimates
31 BCE Earthquake and/or 31 CE Earthquake
Effect |
Description |
Intensity |
Collapsed Walls |
collapse of “structured parts” of Jason’s Tomb |
VIII + |
The archeoseismic evidence requires a minimum Intensity of VIII (8) when using the
Earthquake Archeological Effects chart of
Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224).
Notes and Further Reading