Excavation of the ancient city of Kourion on the island of Cyprus reve

Hi - on (B) - since when do earthquakes get rid of coins ? I think at best, an earthquake would scatter the coins but get rid of coins completely ? Seems suspect

By this logic - even a hurricane or a tsunami also gets rid of coins

Also if all the coins are missing - maybe they were stolen or used up by later generations.

I dont see how (B) prooves an earthquake did it any more than a flood or a hurricane

Excavation of the ancient city of Kourion on the island of Cyprus revealed a pattern of debris and collapsed buildings typical of towns devestated by earthquakes. Archaeologists have hypothesized that the destruction was due to a major earthquake known to have occured near the island in A.D. 365.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the archaeologists' hypothesis?

But i thought the information in the red below is 'part of the hypothesis'. I didnt think its a given / fact that an earthquake MUST HAVE OCCURED in 365 AD because the words in the red come after the word hypothesis

Anything after the word hypothesis is -- a hyothesis (including the words in the red)

So maybe the earthquake took place but not in 365 AD but maye NO Earthquake took place in 365 AD

So (C) was strengthening because (C) confirms -- YES ! an earthquake DID OCCUR in 365 AD.

The archaeologists conclude that the destruction found in Kourion was caused by an earthquake near Cyprus in the year A.D. 365. Here’s how they arrive at that conclusion:

1. They found a pattern of destruction in Kourion (a city on the island of Cyprus).
2. This pattern is typically found in towns devastated by earthquakes.
3. An earthquake took place near Cyprus in A.D. 365.
4. Therefore, this earthquake is what caused the destruction of Kourion.

And the question is asking: which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the archaeologists' hypothesis?

To strengthen this argument, we'll need to rule out other causes of the same pattern of destruction or find evidence that Kourion was actually devastated in A.D. 365, not sometime before or after the earthquake.


If Kourion was devastated in A.D. 365, we wouldn’t expect to see any drinking vessels originating from after that year. Choice (A) weakens the argument, so we’ll eliminate it.


Choice (B) presents exactly the kind of evidence we need to back the archaeologists. If they found pre-365 coinage in the debris but couldn’t find a single coin created after 365, then we’d be more inclined to believe that the earthquake in A.D. 365 did in fact devastate Kourion. Let’s keep this and continue eliminating choices.


Choice (C) doesn’t give us any new information. It may strengthen the fact that an earthquake took place in this year, but doesn’t strengthen the argument that this earthquake caused the destruction seen in Kourion. Let’s eliminate choice (C).


Choice (D) would neither strengthen nor weaken the argument, which places the destruction of Kourion in A.D. 365. If these small statues were carved between 300 and 365, choice (D) would strengthen the argument. If these small statues were carved between 365 and 400, choice (D) would weaken the argument. Since we don’t know when exactly the statues were carved, we’ll eliminate choice (D).


This evidence weakens the argument because it presents an artifact that was created after the year of the earthquake in A.D. 365. Let’s eliminate choice (E).

Answer choice (B) is the best option.

Option B is only providing evidence that destruction might have occured. It doesn't tell us the cause was Earthquake then how does this option supports the hypothesis.

Bit confused. If coins post AD 365 are not found how does this fact suggest that the town was destroyed by earthquake itself? The town might have been destroyed by flood or some other natural disaster.

The archaeologists conclude that the destruction found in Kourion was caused by an earthquake near Cyprus in the year A.D. 365. Here’s how they arrive at that conclusion:

1. They found a pattern of destruction in Kourion (a city on the island of Cyprus).
2. This pattern is typically found in towns devastated by earthquakes.
3. An earthquake took place near Cyprus in A.D. 365.
4. Therefore, this earthquake is what caused the destruction of Kourion.

And the question is asking: which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the archaeologists' hypothesis?

To strengthen this argument, we'll need to rule out other causes of the same pattern of destruction or find evidence that Kourion was actually devastated in A.D. 365, not sometime before or after the earthquake.


If Kourion was devastated in A.D. 365, we wouldn’t expect to see any drinking vessels originating from after that year. Choice (A) weakens the argument, so we’ll eliminate it.


Choice (B) presents exactly the kind of evidence we need to back the archaeologists. If they found pre-365 coinage in the debris but couldn’t find a single coin created after 365, then we’d be more inclined to believe that the earthquake in A.D. 365 did in fact devastate Kourion. Let’s keep this and continue eliminating choices.


Choice (C) doesn’t give us any new information. It may strengthen the fact that an earthquake took place in this year, but doesn’t strengthen the argument that this earthquake caused the destruction seen in Kourion. Let’s eliminate choice (C).


Choice (D) would neither strengthen nor weaken the argument, which places the destruction of Kourion in A.D. 365. If these small statues were carved between 300 and 365, choice (D) would strengthen the argument. If these small statues were carved between 365 and 400, choice (D) would weaken the argument. Since we don’t know when exactly the statues were carved, we’ll eliminate choice (D).


This evidence weakens the argument because it presents an artifact that was created after the year of the earthquake in A.D. 365. Let’s eliminate choice (E).

Answer choice (B) is the best option.

Hi GMATNinja, KarishmaB, MartyTargetTestPrep,

I have a silly doubt..

If the question was framed to find the assumption, then would the choice (C) be the most appropriate answer to select in this case or choice (B) will still be the best bet ?

Thank you!
Tilak