Karcz and Kafri (1978: 244-245) reported that tilted and distorted walls and subsiding arches were uncovered in excavations of the Byzantine town of Antipatris (Aphek). This led Kochavi (1976) and Kochavi (personal communication to Karcz) to attribute the end and decline of the town to the 419 CE Monaxius and Plinta earthquake. In his preliminary excavation report, Kochavi (1975) noted that very little was uncovered from the Early Byzantine period and suggested that Antipatris, as a significant city, probably came to its end around the beginning of the 5th century CE. Later, Kochavi (1981) explicitly stated that the entire city was destroyed by an earthquake in 419 CE.

Golan (2008) did not present earthquake evidence but remarked that Kochavi had also linked the city’s destruction to the 363 CE Cyril Quake. Golan adds that “the fact that most of the coins dated to the second half of the fourth century CE suggests that the cardo may have been abandoned at the beginning of the Byzantine period,” which seems to “corroborate the excavators’ conclusions (Kochavi 1989) that assumed the city was destroyed in the year 363 CE.” The latest coins reported by Kochavi (1975), apparently from the Early Byzantine level, were issued under Constantine the Great (308–337 CE), Constantius II (337–361 CE), and Arcadius (395–408 CE).

Jones (2021) recommended caution in interpreting the numismatic evidence, noting that “the ceramic finds included PRS 3 forms dating to the mid-5th–6th century (Golan 2008: fig. 5.5–6).” He also observed that the apparent presence of “Mefjar ware” (Islamic Cream Ware), which dates no earlier than the late 7th century (Walmsley 2001), in the “earthquake stratum” (Neidinger 1982:167), is problematic, suggesting that “this may indicate multiple destructions.” Without more complete excavation publications, Jones concluded, the situation is difficult to evaluate.

Jones further pointed out the presence of a bishop of Antipatris at the Council of Chalcedon (451) (Dauphin 2000; Frankel and Kochavi 2000: 23, 31), which Fischer (1989: 1806) suggested may be explained by assuming that the role of Antipatris “was filled with a great number of smaller settlements” like Khirbat Dhikrin (Zikrin) after the 419 earthquake. Jones added that it is equally possible that Antipatris was not abandoned in the early 5th century.