• General Plan of Jerash
  Plan of Jerash. North is to the right.
  
  Holger Behr - Wikipedia - Public Domain
  from Wikipedia
• Fig. 2 - Plan of Umayyad Jerash
  Figure 2
  
  Plan summarising the principal urban features of Umayyad Jarash.
  

  1. Umayyad mosque
  2. possible Islamic administrative centre
  3. market (suq)
  4. South Tetrakonia piazza (built over)
  5. Macellum, with Umayyad–Abbasid rebuilding, and south cardo, encroached by structures;
  6. Oval piazza domestic quarter with fountain;
  7. Zeus temple forecourt (kiln, monastery?)
  8. hippodrome and Bishop Marianos church, eighth century use
  9. church of SS Peter and Paul and Mortuary Church (Umayyad construction date?)
  10. churches of SS Cosmas and Damianus, St George and St John theBaptist, with Umayyad–Abbasid occupation and iconoclastic-effected mosaics (later eighth century)
  11. Christian complex of two churches (Cathedral to the east with stairs from the street, St Theodore’s to the west), mid-5th to late 6th century Bath of Placcus (north of St Theodore’s) and houses west of St Theodore’s with extensive Umayyad occupation including a kiln and oil press
  12. Artemis compound used for ceramic manufacture
  13. Synagogue church with iconoclastic-effected mosaics
  14. North Theatre, also industrialised with kilns
  15. the 1981 ‘mosque’
  16. central Cardo with blacksmith’s shop and offices

  
  Map modfied from R.E. Pillen in Zayadine (1986).
  
  Walmsley and Daamgaard (2005)
  from Walmsley and Daamgaard (2005)

Uscatescu and Marot (2000:283) dated seismic destruction of the Macellum to at the latest to the second quarter of the seventh century based on pottery and coins¹. The seismic destruction layer was found in a sealed and undisturbed context and is well-dated. Uscatescu and Marot (2000:281) discussed a dating revision as follows:

This destruction was previously dated to the early seventh century, but now we are compelled to withdraw this date and propose, on the basis of both pottery and coin data, a mid-seventh century chronology for this collapse, that is some 20 years later than the first proposed chronology. However, this corrected date for the Macellum destruction does not affect the established pre-Islamic phases of the building.

In addition to the collapse layers found throughout the Macellum, vaulted Islamic galleries were constructed over where exedra 4 once stood. It can be presumed that exedra 4 was demolished and cleared away before construction of the galleries began.

• from Chat GPT 4o, 22 June 2025
• from Uscatescu & Marot (2000)

A major collapse layer was found over the southern exedra of the macellum. This collapse consisted of architectural debris and rubble that sealed earlier phases of the building. A retaining wall was built above the destruction level to prevent further subsidence.

The authors interpret this collapse as marking a significant disruptive event, though they stop short of attributing it definitively to a single cause. They propose three possible explanations: (1) the Sasanian invasion in 614 CE, (2) the 631–632 CE earthquake recorded in Byzantine sources, or (3) early Islamic conflict-related destruction. The collapse layer provides a terminus post quem for these events.

No explicit faulting or directional collapse patterns were reported. However, the sudden nature of the destruction, stratigraphic sealing, and architectural displacement all suggest a rapid catastrophic event, compatible with earthquake damage. Later reuse of the building in the Umayyad and Abbasid periods confirms that the structure was never fully restored after this event.

Uscatescu and Marot (2000:299) report that the building continued in use after the mid 7th century CE destruction with new structures built over parts of the ruins. A later destruction layer was present which Uscatescu and Marot (2000:298-299) discussed as follows:

The Destruction Layer of Late Umayyad/Early Abbasid Chronology over the Islamic Galleries

The Islamic galleries were covered by a destruction level composed of ashlar blocks and voussoirs from the fallen walls and vaults. Archaeological analysis proves that it is also a disturbed layer, since the residual sherds account for 88.5 per cent of the total. In the case of the coins, the percentage of residuality is much higher, accounting for 92.68 percent (Table 4).

Unfortunately, only four sherds can be dated to the late Umayyad period; the rest are rubbish survival, including some transitional shapes such as imported Cypriot Late Roman D (Hayes form 9B), which has an end date of the late seventh century (Hayes 1972: 382). The Umayyad pottery is limited to a cooking-pot (Figure 9.6), a handmade grey basin (Figure 9.12) and a probably local grey amphora (Figure 9.13). The absence of any Islamic coins within this context does not help when attempting to fix a more accurate date to the collapse.

Some traces of an early Abbasid occupation over the destruction level were found at exedra 3 (Table 5b) which they discussed as follows:

This evidence points to a very short occupation, with some burnt patches identified as small fireplaces and several complete cooking-pots (Figure 9.3, 6) and some dark BGW (Figure 9.9, 11). Therefore, this level should be dated, at least, to the second half of the eighth century on stratigraphical basis. No coins were recorded.

UUscatescu and Marot (2000:299) noted chronological difficulties in dating final (destruction) and abandonment.

It is difficult to ascertain the chronology of the second and final abandonment of the building. But most of the archaeological evidence recorded pointed to the second half of the eighth or early ninth centuries. Unfortunately, there is not a single undisturbed context that can be surely dated in the early Abbasid period, with the exception of sporadic occupation in exedra 3.

• from Chat GPT 4o, 22 June 2025
• from Uscatescu & Marot (2000)

A second major destruction layer was identified above the Islamic vaulted galleries in the Macellum at Jerash. It consisted of a dense accumulation of fallen ashlar blocks and voussoirs, collapsed from the galleries’ walls and vaults. The layer appears to have been deposited rapidly, but its integrity is compromised: 88.5% of the ceramic material and 92.68% of the coins were identified as residual.

Despite the high residuality, four diagnostic ceramic sherds— including a cooking pot, a handmade grey basin, and a grey amphora—support a terminus post quem in the late Umayyad period, while imported Cypriot Late Roman D (Hayes Form 9B) further constrains the terminus ante quem to the end of the 7th century CE. The destruction event itself is thus tentatively dated to the late 8th or early 9th century CE. The absence of Islamic coins from this level hinders finer chronological resolution.

A short-lived early Abbasid reoccupation was noted in exedra 3, above the destruction layer, and consisted of small hearths and intact cooking vessels. This episode, though ephemeral, supports a terminus post quem in the second half of the 8th century CE.

Uscatescu and Marot (2000:299) acknowledge the difficulty in firmly assigning a cause to this second collapse, noting that no single undisturbed context is available for dating the event with certainty. Nonetheless, the stratigraphic sequence and associated material suggest a sudden and damaging episode, possibly of seismic origin, occurring during the late Umayyad to early Abbasid transition.