• Site Plan of Jerash
  Plan of Jerash. North is to the right.
  
  Holger Behr - Wikipedia - Public Domain
  from Wikipedia
• Fig. 1 - Plan of Ecclesiastical
  Fig. 1
  
  Ecclesiastical complex at Gerasa, adapted from Beat Brenk et al., "Neue Forschungen zur Kathedrale von Gerasa: Probleme der Chronologie und der Vorgângerbauten," ZDPV 112 (1996): 139-55, fig. 1.
  
  Moralee (2006)
  complex Jerash from Moralee, J. (2006)
• Fig. 8 - Plan of the Church of
  Fig. 8
  
  Plan of the Church of St Theodore Date: ca. AD 494/496 (dated by Inscription, Michel 2001: 237-238) - ?
  
  Raja (2025)
  St Theodore from Raja (2025)

• Site Plan of Jerash
  Plan of Jerash. North is to the right.
  
  Holger Behr - Wikipedia - Public Domain
  from Wikipedia
• Fig. 1 - Plan of Ecclesiastical
  Fig. 1
  
  Ecclesiastical complex at Gerasa, adapted from Beat Brenk et al., "Neue Forschungen zur Kathedrale von Gerasa: Probleme der Chronologie und der Vorgângerbauten," ZDPV 112 (1996): 139-55, fig. 1.
  
  Moralee (2006)
  acomplex t Jerash from Moralee, J. (2006)
• Fig. 8 - Plan of the Church of
  Fig. 8
  
  Plan of the Church of St Theodore Date: ca. AD 494/496 (dated by Inscription, Michel 2001: 237-238) - ?
  
  Raja (2025)
  St Theodore from Raja (2025)

• Site Plan of Jerash
  Plan of Jerash. North is to the right.
  
  Holger Behr - Wikipedia - Public Domain
  from Wikipedia
• Fig. 1 - Plan of Ecclesiastical
  Fig. 1
  
  Ecclesiastical complex at Gerasa, adapted from Beat Brenk et al., "Neue Forschungen zur Kathedrale von Gerasa: Probleme der Chronologie und der Vorgângerbauten," ZDPV 112 (1996): 139-55, fig. 1.
  
  Moralee (2006)
  acomplex t Jerash from Moralee, J. (2006)

• Site Plan of Jerash
  Plan of Jerash. North is to the right.
  
  Holger Behr - Wikipedia - Public Domain
  from Wikipedia
• Fig. 1 - Plan of Ecclesiastical
  Fig. 1
  
  Ecclesiastical complex at Gerasa, adapted from Beat Brenk et al., "Neue Forschungen zur Kathedrale von Gerasa: Probleme der Chronologie und der Vorgângerbauten," ZDPV 112 (1996): 139-55, fig. 1.
  
  Moralee (2006)
  acomplex t Jerash from Moralee, J. (2006)

Crowfoot (1929:19) attributed destruction of the Church of Saint Theodore to a mid 8th century CE earthquake noting that this date fits the latest class of objects which we found upon our floor levels. Crowfoot (1929:26) described the collapsed columns as follows:

The columns, fourteen in number, with their Corinthian capitals, were all lying where they had fallen ; not a single capital was missing, not a single drum had been removed, but not a single one was upon its base ; in the west half of the church the columns had fallen inwards, across each other, but in the east half most of them had fallen to the north after the collapse of the side walls, both of which in this part had fallen to the south. Masons' marks on the sections of the column drums showed that these columns had been used previously for the same building as the engaged columns and certain other carved blocks which we found built into the side walls ; the style of the Corinthian capitals suggests that this earlier building may have belonged to the beginning of the third century, and the lettering of the masons' marks appears to belong to the same period.

Crowfoot (1938:223-4) in Kraeling (1938) described the archaeoseismic evidence at the Church of St Theodore in Jerash.

It was quite clear from the condition of the basilica and the atrium that both had been destroyed by an earthquake. In the basilica all the columns were lying where they had fallen; not a single capital or drum had been carried away, but the bases only were in position. In the west half the columns fell inwards across each other; in the east half most of them had fallen to the north after the collapse of the side walls ; the apse fell outward into the Fountain Court. The violence of the shock which ruined the place was particularly clear at the entrance to the atrium, where some of the upper blocks seem to have turned a somersault in the air. In two of the side chambers there were signs of preparations to salvage building material. Fallen stones and tiles were found stacked in neat piles, but the place was ultimately abandoned wholly to squatters who converted the rooms and alleys round the atrium into stables for their animals and dwelling places for themselves.

Crowfoot (1938:260) in Kraeling (1938) noted that the west wall of the atrium was built of very massive stones, many of them dangerously dislocated by earthquake shocks.

• from Chat GPT 4o, 21 June 2025
• from Crowfoot (1929)

The Church of Saint Theodore was constructed between 494 and 496 CE, as dated by a Greek hexameter inscription. Its destruction is attributed to the 749 CE Sabbatical Year Quakes, based on in situ collapse patterns, architectural damage, and the absence of subsequent occupation layers after a clear seismic event (Crowfoot, 1929:19).

All fourteen Corinthian columns in the nave were found toppled, none upright or looted. In the west half of the church, they fell inward and crisscrossed one another, while in the east half, they fell northward after the southern side wall collapsed southward. No drums or capitals had been moved, suggesting sudden abandonment after a violent event (Crowfoot, 1929:26).

Bronze-clamped wall facings, sections of the chancel screen, and the ambo remained undisturbed beneath collapsed roofing debris. Roofing tiles and timbers—some preserved—were found above these fixtures, confirming that destruction happened while the fittings were still intact. The atrium doorway collapsed in a manner consistent with seismic shock, and multiple other buildings in the complex show stacked rubble or abandoned architectural salvage in preparation for restoration that never occurred (Crowfoot, 1929:25).

In the baptistery and south rooms, blocked doors, covered mosaics, ash layers, and a concentration of collapsed tiles and marble fragments suggest that the earthquake triggered a termination of planned reconstruction. Burnt materials and neatly stacked architectural elements imply an attempt at repair or preservation prior to the site’s final abandonment.

The Fountain Court below the apse, which predates the church, also reveals signs of significant reworking and damage. Severely displaced paving, blocked water channels, and reused architectural fragments further support regional seismic destruction. Though this zone had earlier origins, its final use phases align with the same mid-8th century terminus as the church above.

• from Chat GPT 4o, 21 June 2025
• from Crowfoot in Kraeling (1938)

The destruction of the Church of Saint Theodore is dated to the mid‑8th century CE, specifically the 749 CE Sabbatical Year Quake, based on widespread collapse patterns, severe architectural dislocations, and abandonment without evidence of later repair.

All fourteen nave Corinthian columns were found toppled in situ — none removed or reused — with those in the western half of the church fallen inward across each other, and those in the eastern half fallen northward after the side walls collapsed southward. The apse had fallen outward into the adjacent Fountain Court.

At the entrance to the atrium, upper masonry blocks appeared to have “turned a somersault in the air,” highlighting the violence of the seismic shock. In side chambers, tiles and stones had been stacked for reuse, but abandonment followed before restoration could be completed.

The west wall of the atrium, built of massive stone blocks, was “dangerously dislocated by earthquake shocks,” according to the excavators, confirming that the entire complex suffered catastrophic failure during this seismic event.

Walmsley (2007) reports the following archeoseismic evidence at Jerash (Gerasa)

At Gerasa the evidence is less categorical but suggests at least sections of the town - but not perhaps all of it - were damaged in A.D. 749. Thick levels of building wreckage were encountered above the cathedral steps, in the church of St Theodore and the group of three churches dedicated to SS Cosmas and Damianus, St George and St John the Baptist, which the Yale Mission attributed to earthquake activity in the 8th c.²⁹ In 2004, further graphic evidence for the impact of the earthquake at Gerasa was recovered from a room on the eastern part of the south decumanus, in which was found the crushed skeletal remains of a human victim and a mule accompanied by a hoard of 148 silver dirhams, of which three were minted in 130 A.H. (A.D. 747/48).

Footnotes

29 Kraeling (1938) 208, 223, 247–49.

• from Chat GPT 4o, 21 June 2025
• from Walmsley (2007:180–181)

Archaeoseismic damage at the Church of Saint Theodore in Jerash is supported by collapse debris and stratified finds dating to the mid-8th century CE. Walmsley notes that thick destruction layers were found at several churches in the city, including the Church of Saint Theodore, where evidence strongly suggests earthquake-related collapse.

While Walmsley acknowledges the destruction was not citywide, he confirms significant damage to religious structures such as the Church of Saint Theodore, the Church of St George, St John the Baptist, and the cathedral terrace. These findings are attributed to the 749 CE Sabbatical Year Earthquake.

Chronological evidence includes stratified deposits and a hoard of 148 silver dirhams found in a collapsed room on the South Decumanus. Three of the coins were minted in 130 AH (747/48 CE), providing a secure terminus post quem for the collapse. The presence of a crushed human and equine skeleton beneath the debris reinforces a sudden, catastrophic event consistent with a major earthquake.