Archaeological excavations at Beth She'arim reveal that the site, which had been rebuilt following the mid-4th century destruction, suffered a second major destruction event in the first half of the 5th century CE. Erlich (2018) notes that early Byzantine structures across Areas A, C, and D, including domestic buildings and water installations, were destroyed "possibly by an earthquake" in the 1st half of the 5th century CE. Erlich (2021) identifies this event more precisely, attributing the widespread stone collapse and destruction across the site to "the earthquake of 419 CE," while noting that evidence of large-scale building collapse was found in nearly all excavated areas. In Area C1, domestic rooms built in the 3rd–4th centuries were destroyed, with collapsed walls, "a large quantity of potsherds", and a coin hoard which dated to the 2nd half of the 4th century CE. Further evidence comes from Area Y, where residential structures were "destroyed in a large collapse" during the first half of the 5th century, and from Area Z, where buildings collapsed in a "devastating event" that left dense layers of pottery, glass, and coins sealed beneath destruction debris. The "pottery assemblage" from "the early Byzantine stratum (at least 2 m deep)" in Area Y was "homogeneous" and dated from the mid-4th to the 1st half of the 5th century CE. Taken together, the evidence suggests that an earthquake, perhaps the 419 CE Monaxius and Plinta Quake, was the cause of Beth She'arim’s final major destruction. Although limited reoccupation followed, the site never regained its former urban significance after this catastrophe.