New Excavations at Sukenik's "Third Wall"

Abstract

associate this with an earthquake that occurred between A. D. 447 and 551. Amiran lists major earthquakes in 447, 498, 502 and 551, with the one in 551 being the most destructive.13 Contemporary with the stable and across the wall from the scale stick was a room that may have been a courtyard. A heavy stone mortar was found near the center wall, and the uneven stony surface of the area suggests a courtyard which possibly separated the stable from living quarters south of the excavated area. The Byzantine building was founded on remains of the late Roman period which might turn out to be a structure if a larger area were excavated. The scale stick in Fig. 5 rests on bedrock, and the stony pavement near the stick yielded pottery of the late Roman or Early Byzantine period along with some badly corroded small bronze coins that could be late Roman or Byzantine. Three silver denarii were recovered from the stony make-up of the courtyard, which rested on bedrock. One coin was indistinct, another dated to Vitellius (or Galba), and the third had this inscription from the reign of Hadrian: