It appears that some type of destruction occurred at Hammat Gader in the middle of the 5th century CE, leading to the demise of bathing areas and pools in Areas B, C, and E, and to renovations and rebuilding throughout the bathing complex in Areas A, B, C, G, and H, some of which accompanied Inscriptions 1, 2, and 33.

Inscription No. 1 may refer to an earthquake when it uses language such as "smashed" a "water-carrying bath" and hurt and killed men and, "in many cases, children," when the earth "buried it all from above" (Hirschfeld et al., 1997:188). It is also possible that this catastrophe refers to a debris flow resulting from a flood or landslide. Hirschfeld et al. (1997:186) suggest that Inscription No. 1 is connected with renovations that led to the laying of pavement in Area C, as it was found in situ in the "exact center" of the central room in Area C. In fact, Inscription No. 1 states that "now, having laid a pavement" and "made a sporting place" (e.g., a gymnasium), "pleasant water" can be "drawn elsewhere."

Hirschfeld et al. (1997:186) suggest that Inscription No. 2, dated to autumn 455 CE (Hirschfeld et al., 1997:189), was placed at the same time as Inscription No. 1. Inscription No. 2 was found in Area E, adjacent to Area C. Hirschfeld et al. (1997) propose that "Areas E and C actually form two wings of a twin hall," and that the paving laid in both areas covered earlier pools, presumably damaged by an "earth-burying" catastrophe. Another inscription (No. 33), also found in Area E, was interpreted as being placed at the same time as Inscriptions 1 and 2. This inscription (No. 33) is dated between 451 and 457 CE.

Although the inscriptions appear to date the laying of the pavement in Areas B, C, and E to the mid-5th century CE, "rich finds beneath the [Area C] Byzantine floor (L. 313) include coins from different periods, the earliest dating from the mid-third century and the latest from the time of Justinian II (r. 565-578)." Coins ranging from "Diocletian (r. 284-305) (end of the third century) up to the time of Justinian II (r. 565-578)" were also found beneath the flooring in Area B (Hirschfeld et al., 1997:133). Hirschfeld et al. (1997:127) note that the floor "underwent several modifications and renovations in later phases of its existence," which could explain why coins from the time of Justinian II (r. 565-578) were found underneath.

Magness (2010:153–161) re-dated Phase II at Hammat Gader to the Umayyad rather than the Byzantine period. Her reassessment was based on coins and pottery, and she argued that Hirschfeld et al. (1997) relied too heavily on inscriptions to establish the chronology, leading to conclusions that conflicted with the material evidence. In Magness’s re-dating, the Phase IIA destruction — if indeed seismic — would most plausibly correspond either to the Jordan Valley Quake(s) of 659/660 CE or to one of the events within the 749 CE Sabbatical Year sequence.

If the Jordan Valley Quake(s) of 659/660 CE was the causative event, then the Muʿāwiya inscription (no. 54), which records renovation activity commissioned by Muʿāwiya and dates to 662 CE, would likely represent a response to that earthquake. In this case, Hirschfeld et al. (1997)’s Phase IIB earthquake would be synonymous with his Phase IIA event and it would be more accurate to refer to a Phase II earthquake.