Substructio Earthquake Open site page in a new tab
Boyer (2022:74) reported evidence for a mid-8th-century CE earthquake on the eastern side of Jerash. At this location, a site “adjacent to the substructio carrying the Qairawan aqueduct” (JWP111) was temporarily exposed during modern foundation works. Radiocarbon analysis of charcoal recovered from layers above and below a tumble deposit—up to 2 m thick—over a low, ruined masonry feature (likely an earlier water channel) showed that this collapse horizon belongs to the mid-eighth-century interval, consistent with a destructive seismic event. 2σ calibrated ages for the radiocarbon sample were 713-885 CE above the tumble and 669-769 CE below the tumble.

By Jefferson Williams