Rescinded Earthquake
Although
Karcz, Kafri, and Meshel (1977), citing
Avi-Yonah’s Encyclopedia in Hebrew, listed
"tilted walls, aligned fallen masonry, cracks,
and collapse" at Masada and attributed these
features to shocks in the 1st century BC and
later, the 1st-century BCE attribution was
subsequently rescinded in
Karcz (2004), which stated that the
archaeological evidence for the 31 BCE
Josephus Quake "is tenuous at best" and
noted that "Netzer (1991, 1997), in his
detailed analysis of the architectural
complexes of Masada, states that the signs of
possible seismic damage there are much later
than 31 B.C.".
Netzer (1991) himself mentioned only one
earthquake affecting Masada between the 2nd
and 4th centuries CE.