Stratum 20 at Tell Hesban is represented almost exclusively by the deep bedrock trench on the southern shelf and a cistern on the acropolis. The trench was found completely filled with a mass of debris containing mixed Iron Age IA–IB pottery, ash lenses, rock tumble, a human bone, and numerous domestic artifacts, without intervening surfaces or water-sorted layers. This combination points to a rapid, single-phase destruction and infilling episode rather than slow accumulation or routine clearance.

The dating of the destruction relies on the ceramic assemblage, notably collared-rim store jars, incurved bowls and carinated bowls, strainer-spouted jugs, and related Iron I forms consistent with an early Iron Age horizon. In the absence of later material within the destruction debris (apart from an intrusive Early Roman pit), the event is reasonably placed in the Iron Age IA–IB range and associated with an incipient fortified settlement occupying the acropolis and upper slopes.

Ray (2001) interprets the bedrock trench primarily as a defensive installation, possibly a dry moat, reflecting organized communal labor, concern for the vulnerable southern approach, and a settlement more substantial than a small hamlet. The rapid, destructive infilling is attributed to hostile human action, tentatively linked to desert raiders or regional groups such as the Ammonites, drawing on biblical and historical analogies for Iron Age I conflict in Transjordan.

However, the same archaeological signature is also compatible with a seismic destruction scenario. A sudden structural failure triggered by a strong earthquake could produce extensive tumble, ash, and a quick mass of collapse debris washing or tipping into the open trench and nearby cavities. Given the absence of unequivocal indicators of warfare such as weapons concentrations, seismic shaking remains a plausible alternative.