According to Brizzi et al. (2010), the Propylaea Church suffered from a 7th-century CE earthquake whose effects are clearest in the southern chapel. Collapsed blocks were found in situ on the mosaic of the presbiterium, with debris only partly cleared — likely just enough to retrieve the liturgical furnishings. Additional structural indications appeared on the floor of the eastern portico of the atrium , where the stone tiles preserved “unmistakable cracking by pointing shots.” Inside the church, three heaps of building lime in the south-western corner of the southern aisle indicated some type of activity which the excavators interpreted as an interrupted restoration effort or a later attempt to adapt the damaged building for storage after the earthquake. In the southern range of rooms off the atrium, layers of wind-blown sand demonstrate a phase of localized abandonment prior to the earthquake.

A terminus post quem for Phase 2b renovations (before the earthquake) was provided by a 12-nummia coin sealed within the bedding of the Phase 2b pavement—a coin of Phocas (r. 602–610) minted at Alexandria between 602 and 610 CE. A terminus ante quem is provided by a packed-earth floor laid down after the Phase 2b earthquake, whose associated material—“finds from these pavements”—is dated by Brizzi et al. (2010:357) to the 7th century CE.

Deformation Map - Click on image to open in a new tab - Modified by JW from Fig. 7 of Brizzi et al. (2010)