Event 1 in trench T-15 was identified on a Holocene alluvial fan surface within the marginal fault zone of the Elat fault system in the southern Arava Valley. Trench T-15 was excavated across a north-trending fault trace belonging to the same approximately 3.5-km-long fault line investigated in trenches T-6, T-16, and T-17. The broader marginal fault zone is characterized by normal faulting arranged in a domino structure across the alluvial-fan surfaces of Wadi Roded, Wadi Shehoret, and Wadi Avrona. Amit et al. (2002) note that the displaced alluvial surfaces range in age from the Holocene to the Pleistocene and that the faults produce shallow saddles and linear scarps aligned along north-trending lineaments. According to Amit et al. (2002:197), trench T-15 exposed evidence for only a single tectonic event on this Holocene surface, unlike trench T-6 on the same fault line which preserved evidence for at least seven rupture events spanning the late Pleistocene and Holocene. The occurrence of only one recognized Holocene rupture in trench T-15 illustrates the spatial variability of displacement and event preservation along a single fault trace. Amit et al. (2002) emphasize that both the number of preserved tectonic events and the amount of displacement can vary significantly between nearby trenches excavated along the same fault line. The event in trench T-15 displaced the surface by approximately 0.5 m and represents comparatively modest Holocene deformation relative to the larger 1.5-1.6 m displacements identified in older late Pleistocene events along the same fault system.

Event 1 in trench T-15 was dated primarily by pedogenic interpretation and relative soil development rather than direct numerical dating. Amit et al. (2002) state that the event occurred during the Holocene at approximately 8 ± 2 ka, corresponding approximately to 6000 ± 2000 BCE, or roughly 8000-4000 BCE. This age estimate was derived from comparison of soil maturity and development with dated regional soil chronosequences established for southern Arava alluvial surfaces. Using the Wells and Coppersmith (1994) maximum-displacement relation for normal faults, a vertical displacement of 0.5 m corresponds to an estimated moment magnitude of approximately M_W 6.4.

• Fig. 2 Geomorphic Map of the
  Figure 2
  
  Map of the southern Arava Valley showing the main morphologic and morphotectonic elements of the southern Arava Valley. Notice marginal and central fault zones, the distribution of the trenches across the selected fault lines, and the location of the seismic lines. Trenches T-6, T-17, and T-16 are located along the same fault line.
  
  JW: Trench T-20 apppears to be mislocated on this map and should be further north
  
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  Amit et al. (2002)
  southern Arava showing the location of Trench T-15 from Amit et al. (2002)
• Fig. 2 Geomorphic Map of the
  Figure 2
  
  Geomorphic map of the southern Arava valley in the Avrona basin.
  
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  Zilberman et al. (2005)
  southern Arava from Zilberman et al. (2005)
• Fig. 9a Aerial photograph showing
  Figure 9a
  
  An aerial photograph of the Shehoret alluvial fan. Most of the trenches discussed in the paper are marked on this photograph. Notice the Holocene alluvial fan (Qa3) crossed by an asymmetrical, north-trending graben structure, marked by arrows.
  
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  Amit et al. (2002)
  location of Trench T-15 from Amit et al. (2002)