According to Brizzi et al. (2010:357-358), the 749 CE earthquake “destroyed most of the standing structures and made the whole area unusable.” The complex was abandoned after the destruction, a conclusion supported by the absence of Abbasid material in the post-earthquake deposits, which produced no finds earlier than Mamluk. The northern wall of a residential building immediately south of the church collapsed northward, burying fine polychrome-plaster fragments, glass vessels, and a stucco wall-lamp. Excavators concluded that the church functioned as workshops prior to the Phase 3 earthquake, evidenced by the presence of over twenty stucco basins (grey-ware filled with calcium carbonate) found in situ across the south and north aisles, alongside pit kilns and tabuns. Furthermore, the lack of roof tiles in the collapse layers suggests the roof had already collapsed or disintegrated before the seismic event.