A sudden destructive event brought down the Church of Bishop Marianos, as shown by the interior spaces filled with fallen stones and roof tiles and by small finds scattered across the pavement, indicating also that the building remained in use until the moment of collapse (Gawlikowski & Musa, 1986:141).

Liturgical furnishings— including the reliquary, chancel screen, altar, and the bishop’s throne— were recovered from the rubble soon after the disaster, confirming the abruptness of the event. A coin embedded in a damaged section of the chancel mosaic provides the key dating evidence: a post-reform Umayyad fils minted between 700 and 750 A.D., which could only have been sealed in place at the time of the earthquake (Gawlikowski & Musa, 1986:141).