Najjar (1989) identified two destruction levels in Area IV at al-Muwaqqar. the first of which was based on rebuilding evidence. He suggests that after a partial destruction of the Umayyad desert palace by "the earthquake of A.D. 747 [JW: 749 CE Sabbatical Year Earthquake sequence]", the remains were reused by the local population: the destruction debris was cleared, new walls were built directly on the flagstone pavement of the Umayyad desert palace, and the Palace and surrounding area were reoccupied. Najjar (1989) further argues that after roughly a century, the Palace was abandoned following another destruction, possibly due to an earthquake in the latter 9th century CE. Regarding chronology, Najjar (1989:309) concedes that the pottery dating relies not on coins but on comparative architectural and typological evidence , although some stratified deposits yielded diagnostic material such as a small glazed jar and typical Abbasid lamps. Abbasid pottery, retrieved above the lower (1st) destruction level, was dated to between 730 and 840 CE.