A 2ND CENTURY EARTHQUAKE AT THE TIME OF THE ROMAN ANNEXATION OF NABATAEA?

The earliest occupation layers excavated during the Roman Aqaba Project (1994-2002) in the city of Aqaba, Jordan are represented by three phases of substantial Nabataean stone- and mud-brick wall construction, built upon beach sands sterile of artifacts. Ceramic data (mainly early Roman amphorae, Terra Sigillata, and Nabataean painted fineware) associated with these structures suggest that occupation began in the first century A.D. and ended in the early second century A.D. These occupation deposits were subsequently covered by a very thick layer (>1m) of mud-brick collapse that contained whole or partial bricks visible in the section. The collapse dents the surfaces beneath, indicating a violent fall of the structures. Excavators concluded that this collapse horizon could either relate to the Roman annexation of Nabataea in A.D. 106 or a possible earthquake at the beginning of the second century. Although it has been pointed out that there is no specific literary evidence for such an earthquake (Schmid, 1998), a complete section of collapsed wall at this site might suggest earthquake destruction. There is also continuing debate about the degree of Nabataean resistance to the annexation that might have resulted in destruction by human means in this period. No fault rupture for this possible earthquake was documented in the present study in Aqaba because of the limited areas of excavated to this depth. Furthermore, subsequent building and reuse of the surviving walls has appreciably masked the original geometry. The site was abandoned until the late third to early fourth century A.D. Corroborating evidence for a 2nd C. earthquake in the southern Levant has been documented at Nabataean sites in the Negev, Arava Valley, and at Petra. The coincidence of an earthquake with a documented political transition makes unequivocal interpretation of the archaeological record extremely difficult.