Herodian Remains Earthquake
Rahmani (1964:98–99)
interpreted the collapse of certain “structured parts” of
Jason’s Tomb in Jerusalem as the result of the 31 BCE
earthquake. He identified Herodian material—mainly oil
lamps—lying on a plaster floor beneath the collapse debris.
Because Herod’s conquest of Jerusalem occurred in
37 BCE and Rahmani (1964) dated the sealing of
the tomb to 30/31 CE, he assumed that the only suitable
event was the Josephus Quake of 31 BCE, the sole
earthquake then known for this interval.
Subsequent research has established the
Jerusalem Quake of 26–36 CE as another
plausible candidate for generating the collapse debris. If
the Jerusalem Quake did affect Jason’s Tomb, it may have
contributed additional material to the destruction layer
rather than being responsible for the original collapse.