Although excavators Meyers, Kraabel, and Strange (1976) identified two earthquake events—the ~306 CE Eusebius’ Martyr Quake and the 419 CE Monaxius and Plinta Quake—which they argued destroyed an earlier Synagogue I and then a later Synagogue II at Khirbet Shema, subsequent scholars re-examined both the chronology and the attribution of the earthquake evidence. In particular, Russell (1980) reassigned the two destruction events to the northern 363 CE Cyril Quake and the 419 CE Monaxius and Plinta Quake. By contrast, Magness (1997) concluded that there was no secure evidence for the existence of a Synagogue I at the site and that an earthquake event around 306 CE could not be substantiated. She argued that Synagogue II was constructed in the late 4th to early 5th century CE and further maintained that the archaeological record did not provide firm evidence for either the 363 CE or the 419 CE earthquake. In her interpretation, the site was ultimately abandoned when an earthquake caused the collapse of Synagogue II at some point prior to the 8th century CE.

Two sealed loci at the site provide a terminus post quem for the construction of Synagogue II. The latest coin recovered from within the Bema was dated to 337–341 CE, during the reign of Constans. The bema deposit was described as “absolutely sealed by the stonework of the bema around and over it,” such that “contamination by later intrusions is virtually impossible” (Meyers, Kraabel, and Strange 1976:34). A second sealed context was identified in a declivity at the northwest corner of Synagogue II, where fill was “sealed beneath more than a meter of debris, including large fallen architectural members” (Meyers, Kraabel, and Strange 1976:34). Pottery from this fill was described as homogeneous Middle–Late Roman, and a coin of Gratian (r. 367–383 CE) was recovered from the lowest levels. Meyers, Kraabel, and Strange (1976) interpreted the construction above the declivity as evidence of remodeling. If, however, this construction represents original building activity rather than later modification, the terminus post quem for the construction of Synagogue II would fall between 337 and 383 CE. It is conceivable that Synagogue II was erected over earthquake-damaged remains of an earlier structure, given the presence of “battered architectural fragments built into Synagogue II (including those identified as belonging to the Torah shrine)” (Magness 1997:216). As Magness emphasized, however, the provenance of these battered elements is uncertain and they may derive from another building altogether. Nevertheless, such material may represent possible archaeoseismic evidence predating the construction of Synagogue II. With respect to the causative earthquake, both the ~306 CE Eusebius’ Martyr Quake and the 363 CE Cyril Quake remain plausible candidates. Two additional fills examined east and west of the stylobate wall were not sealed and did not contribute further chronological precision to the construction history of Synagogue II.