Archaeoseismic evidence for a mid-eighth-century CE earthquake was identified in several areas of Hippos-Sussita. The most securely dated context derives from the Northwest Church, where Mlynarczyk (2008: 256–257) reported that excavations “yielded a number of invaluable archaeological deposits securely sealed by the debris of an earthquake.” This destruction was attributed to one of the 749 CE Sabbatical Year Earthquakes. Typical Umayyad-period ceramics and numerous coins were found sealed within the collapse debris. The latest coin, discovered on the floor of the northern aisle, was minted in Tiberias between 737 and 746 CE, establishing a secure terminus post quem. Remains of three victims were also found within the church, buried beneath the earthquake debris. Eisenberg and Kowalewska (2025: 159–160) note that Hippos was completely abandoned after the mid-eighth-century earthquake, though the settlement had been declining for some time beforehand and had already lost its urban character by the time the earthquake(s) struck.

It is generally assumed that the sub-parallel orientation of columns found collapsed on the cathedral floor resulted from the same seismic event. Yagoda-Biran and Hatzor (2010) analyzed these overturned columns and estimated a lower limit for PGA of 0.2 – 0.4 g for the 749 CE earthquake.