Mazar in Panitz-Cohen and Mazar (2009:129–131) report that Stratum S-3 was exposed almost directly above S-4, with “no apparent destruction or abandonment separating them,” implying only a short interval between the two. In places, two sub-phases were distinguished: the initial post-S-4 construction, S-3b, followed by S-3a. S-3a “was destroyed by a heavy fire,” leaving a thick layer of burnt brick debris with black ash, charcoal, and numerous vessels and objects on beaten-earth floors (ibid.). They add that “in some spaces, the fire was intense enough to burn the outer face of the brick walls to a very hard consistency and to a reddish pink color.” Elsewhere, rooms showed no traces of fire yet were “filled with thick deposits of fallen bricks” (ibid.).

In Building SH, the stone socle of Stratum S-3 Wall 98845 in the eastern room “sloped sharply down from south to north (0.4 m over 3.8 m), perhaps a result of seismic activity or due to the natural topography.” The western room was “filled with fallen bricks and decayed brick debris with some sherds, bones and small bronze pieces” (ibid.). In Building SL, “the collapse of the bricks from the walls, as well as a tilt clearly visible in Wall 78712 at the point where Pit 78824 sectioned it may be indications of earthquake damage; yet it cannot be said whether such activity was the cause of destruction or whether it took place after the building was destroyed” (ibid.). Several valuable objects were 'left behind' in Building SL, including a scarab, several carnelian and glass beads, and gold foil shaped as a ram’s head, as well as pieces of thin gold foil. In Building SM, “the main space on the east (88700) contained a thick layer of destruction debris (78737) above a beaten-earth floor,” and “the smaller room on the west (88820) was full of destruction debris as well (78825).” In the eastern space, Wall 78739—the longest, thickest, and best-preserved wall of the building—was “extremely” burnt; “the northern row of bricks tilted severely to the north, perhaps as a result of an earthquake, which might have occurred post-destruction” (Mazar in Panitz-Cohen and Mazar 2009:154–155). Synthesizing these observations, Mazar in Panitz-Cohen and Mazar (2009:162) conclude that “Stratum S-3a appears to have had a prolonged period of occupation, perhaps interrupted at some time by an event such as an earthquake,” as suggested by tilted walls, sloping foundations, and large accumulations of collapsed brick—while noting that such features could also reflect seismic activity after the city’s destruction.

In Table 1.2, Panitz-Cohen and Mazar (2009) date HU S-3a, which is equivalent to UME Level VI, to Iron IA (1200–1150 BCE). If earthquakes occurred in both S-4 and S-3a, the S-3a event must post-date the S-4 event, implying, perhaps, a probable range of ~1180–1100 BCE and a broader possible range of ~1180–1000 BCE for the S-3a shock.