Umayyad Mosque

Introduction

Figures

Fig. 16.5 - Two Mihrabs

Figure 16.5

The 2002 photo graph of the main (umayyad) miḥrāb of the congregational mosque of Jerash in Phase 1 (c. AD 725–40), with the partially preserved smaller and later Phase 2 (c. mid-eighth to early eleventh centuries) miḥrāb to its left (east). In the foreground are reused column bases that served as foundations for the first colonnade that ran parallel to the qiblat wall of the prayer hall

(Islamic Jarash Project/ Department of antiquities of Jordan, IJP_B&W-360).

Walmsley (2018)

from Walmsley (2018)
Fig. 16.6 - The smaller Mihrab

Figure 16.6

The southern (external) face of the umayyad miḥrāb following stratigraphic excavations, showing the foundations and skilled stone working by the masons. to the right, a long series of street surfaces are preserved that date to the use of the mosque; the later date of the smaller Phase-2 miḥrāb can be seen in the way it sits on top of surfaces contemporary with the original Phase-1 mosque and its miḥrāb

(Islamic Jarash Project/ Department of antiquities of Jordan, IJP_B&W-360).

Walmsley (2018)

from Walmsley (2018)

Discussion

Walmsley (2018:248-250) dates initial construction of the Umayyad Congregational Mosque to between ca. 725 and ca. 735 CE indicating that it was built during the reign of Hisham b. ‘Abd al-Malik who ruled from 724-743 CE. The presence of 3 Mihrabs indicates that the mosque had a long life with at least three major stages ( Walmsley and Damgaard, 2005). The larger Mihrab in the center of the Qiblat Wall was used first followed by a smaller one ~1-2 meters to the east (see Fig. 16.5). The smaller second Mihrabs (Fig. 16.6) appears to post date seismic destruction in 749 CE. Blanke et al (2010) noted that the third Mihrab is located well to the west where it was segregated by a perdition wall. The Mosque was built on top of an earlier structure - a bathhouse.

Jerash - Introduction Webpage

from Jerash - Introduction - click link to open new tab

Aerial Views, Plans, and Photos

Aerial Views

Jerash Umayyad Mosque in Google Earth

Jerash Umayyad Mosque

click on image to explore this site on a new tab in Google Earth

Plans

Site Plans

Normal Size

General Plan of Jerash

Plan of Jerash. North is to the right.

Holger Behr - Wikipedia - Public Domain

from Wikipedia
Fig. 2 - Plan of Umayyad
Figure 2

Plan summarising the principal urban features of Umayyad Jarash.

Umayyad mosque

possible Islamic administrative centre

market (suq)

South Tetrakonia piazza (built over)

Macellum, with Umayyad–Abbasid rebuilding, and south cardo, encroached by structures;

Oval piazza domestic quarter with fountain;

Zeus temple forecourt (kiln, monastery?)

hippodrome and Bishop Marianos church, eighth century use

church of SS Peter and Paul and Mortuary Church (Umayyad construction date?)

churches of SS Cosmas and Damianus, St George and St John theBaptist, with Umayyad–Abbasid occupation and iconoclastic-effected mosaics (later eighth century)

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

Artemis compound used for ceramic manufacture

Synagogue church with iconoclastic-effected mosaics

North Theatre, also industrialised with kilns

the 1981 ‘mosque’

central Cardo with blacksmith’s shop and ofﬁces

Map modfied from R.E. Pillen in Zayadine (1986).

Walmsley and Daamgaard (2005)
Jerash from Walmsley and Daamgaard (2005)
Fig. 13 - Early Islamic

Figure 13

Early Islamic Jerash

8th to 13th century CE

Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)

Jerash - 8th to 13th century CE - from Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)
Fig. 1 - Plan of Jerash

Fig. 1

Jerash archaeological site, showing location of the town's bathhouses

(Modified from map by Thomas Lepaon.)

Blanke et al. (2024b)

showing location of the town's bathhouses from Blanke et al. (2024b)

Magnified

Fig. 2 - Plan of Umayyad
Figure 2

Plan summarising the principal urban features of Umayyad Jarash.

Umayyad mosque

possible Islamic administrative centre

market (suq)

South Tetrakonia piazza (built over)

Macellum, with Umayyad–Abbasid rebuilding, and south cardo, encroached by structures;

Oval piazza domestic quarter with fountain;

Zeus temple forecourt (kiln, monastery?)

hippodrome and Bishop Marianos church, eighth century use

church of SS Peter and Paul and Mortuary Church (Umayyad construction date?)

churches of SS Cosmas and Damianus, St George and St John theBaptist, with Umayyad–Abbasid occupation and iconoclastic-effected mosaics (later eighth century)

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

Artemis compound used for ceramic manufacture

Synagogue church with iconoclastic-effected mosaics

North Theatre, also industrialised with kilns

the 1981 ‘mosque’

central Cardo with blacksmith’s shop and ofﬁces

Map modfied from R.E. Pillen in Zayadine (1986).

Walmsley and Daamgaard (2005)
Jerash from Walmsley and Daamgaard (2005)
Fig. 13 - Early Islamic

Figure 13

Early Islamic Jerash

8th to 13th century CE

Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)

Jerash - 8th to 13th century CE - from Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)
Fig. 1 - Plan of Jerash

Fig. 1

Jerash archaeological site, showing location of the town's bathhouses

(Modified from map by Thomas Lepaon.)

Blanke et al. (2024b)

showing location of the town's bathhouses from Blanke et al. (2024b)

Area Plans and Photos

Congregational Mosque

Normal Size

Fig. 3 - Plan of Congregational

Figure 3

Preliminary outline plan of the Umayyad mosque of Jarash (as after 2004 season).

Walmsley and Daamgaard (2005)

Mosque from Walmsley and Daamgaard (2005)
Fig. 4 - Plan of Congregational

Figure 4

Plan of the mosque, showing excavated areas to 2004

Barnes et al (2006)

Mosque with excavation areas from Barnes et al (2006)

Magnified

Fig. 3 - Plan of Congregational

Figure 3

Preliminary outline plan of the Umayyad mosque of Jarash (as after 2004 season).

Walmsley and Daamgaard (2005)

Mosque from Walmsley and Daamgaard (2005)
Fig. 4 - Plan of Congregational

Figure 4

Plan of the mosque, showing excavated areas to 2004

Barnes et al (2006)

Mosque with excavation areas from Barnes et al (2006)

Early Islamic Jerash - Phases

Normal Size

Fig. 6 - Early Islamic

Figure 6

Early Islamic Jerash

Early 8th century CE

Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)

Jerash - Early 8th century CE - from Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)
Fig. 7 - Early Islamic

Figure 7

Early Islamic Jerash

ca. 750-850 CE

Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)

Jerash - ca. 750-850 CE - from Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)
Fig. 10 - Early Islamic

Figure 10

Early Islamic Jerash

ca. 850-950 CE

Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)

Jerash - ca. 850-950 CE - from Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)
Fig. 11 - Early Islamic

Figure 11

Early Islamic Jerash

ca. 950-1000 CE

Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)

Jerash - ca. 950-1000 CE - from Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)
Fig. 16.8 - Early Islamic

Figure 16.8

Jerash congregational mosque, Phase 2, with surrounding structures of contemporary date (areas GO and EA Phase 3 = mosque Phase 2), dated mid-eighth to mid-tenth centuries AD, with some evidence of use into the early eleventh century AD

(plan by Rune Rattenborg, incorporating material previously published in Gawlikowski 1986; Kraeling 1938a; Simpson 2008a).

Walmsley (2018)

Jerash - ca. 800-1000 CE - from Walmsley (2018)

Magnified

Fig. 6 - Early Islamic

Figure 6

Early Islamic Jerash

Early 8th century CE

Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)

Jerash - Early 8th century CE - from Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)
Fig. 7 - Early Islamic

Figure 7

Early Islamic Jerash

ca. 750-850 CE

Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)

Jerash - ca. 750-850 CE - from Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)
Fig. 10 - Early Islamic

Figure 10

Early Islamic Jerash

ca. 850-950 CE

Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)

Jerash - ca. 850-950 CE - from Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)
Fig. 11 - Early Islamic

Figure 11

Early Islamic Jerash

ca. 950-1000 CE

Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)

Jerash - ca. 950-1000 CE - from Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)
Fig. 16.8 - Early Islamic

Figure 16.8

Jerash congregational mosque, Phase 2, with surrounding structures of contemporary date (areas GO and EA Phase 3 = mosque Phase 2), dated mid-eighth to mid-tenth centuries AD, with some evidence of use into the early eleventh century AD

(plan by Rune Rattenborg, incorporating material previously published in Gawlikowski 1986; Kraeling 1938a; Simpson 2008a).

Walmsley (2018)

Jerash - ca. 800-1000 CE - from Walmsley (2018)

Islamic Jerash Project

Normal Size

Fig. 3 - Islamic Jerash Project

Figure 3

Islamic Jerash Project Excavation Areas 2002-2013

Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)

Excavation Areas 2002-2013 from Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)
Fig. 1 - Square numbers for

Figure 1

Overview of Islamic Jarash Project following excavations in 2009 (by Hugh Barnes).

Blanke et al (2010)

2009 Islamic Jerash Project Excavations from Blanke et al (2010)
Fig. 1 - Square numbers for

Figure 1

General plan of the excavations in central Jarash, to end of 2007 season

(Barnes mod. Walmsley)

Walmsley et al (2008)

2007 Islamic Jerash Project Excavations from Walmsley et al (2008)

Magnified

Fig. 3 - Islamic Jerash Project

Figure 3

Islamic Jerash Project Excavation Areas 2002-2013

Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)

Excavation Areas 2002-2013 from Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)
Fig. 1 - Square numbers for

Figure 1

Overview of Islamic Jarash Project following excavations in 2009 (by Hugh Barnes).

Blanke et al (2010)

2009 Islamic Jerash Project Excavations from Blanke et al (2010)
Fig. 1 - Square numbers for

Figure 1

General plan of the excavations in central Jarash, to end of 2007 season

(Barnes mod. Walmsley)

Walmsley et al (2008)

2007 Islamic Jerash Project Excavations from Walmsley et al (2008)

Central Bathhouse

Normal Size

Fig. 2 - Plan of the

Fig. 2

Plan of the Central Bathhouses highlighting location of latrine and bathhouse sewers

(Plan by Louise Blanke)

Blanke et al. (2024b)

Central Bathhouses from Blanke et al. (2024b)
Fig. 3 - Aerial View

Fig. 3

Overview of latrine in Central Bathhouse looking west.

(© Islamic Jarash Project.)

Blanke et al. (2024b)

of latrine in Central Bathhouse from Blanke et al. (2024b)

Magnified

Fig. 2 - Plan of the

Fig. 2

Plan of the Central Bathhouses highlighting location of latrine and bathhouse sewers

(Plan by Louise Blanke)

Blanke et al. (2024b)

Central Bathhouses from Blanke et al. (2024b)
Fig. 3 - Aerial View

Fig. 3

Overview of latrine in Central Bathhouse looking west.

(© Islamic Jarash Project.)

Blanke et al. (2024b)

of latrine in Central Bathhouse from Blanke et al. (2024b)

Photos

Fig. 3 - Fallen Column atop

Figure 3

A fallen column shaft resting on stone paving of the floor in the mosque hall, with roof tile fragments crushed between the column and paving

JW: The excavators interpreted this on page 111 to be the result of what was left after salvaging activities.

Walmsley et al (2008)

crushed roof tile fragments from Walmsley et al (2008)
Fig. 16.5 - Two Mihrabs

Figure 16.5

The 2002 photo graph of the main (umayyad) miḥrāb of the congregational mosque of Jerash in Phase 1 (c. AD 725–40), with the partially preserved smaller and later Phase 2 (c. mid-eighth to early eleventh centuries) miḥrāb to its left (east). In the foreground are reused column bases that served as foundations for the first colonnade that ran parallel to the qiblat wall of the prayer hall

(Islamic Jarash Project/ Department of antiquities of Jordan, IJP_B&W-360).

Walmsley (2018)

from Walmsley (2018)
Fig. 16.6 - The smaller Mihrab

Figure 16.6

The southern (external) face of the umayyad miḥrāb following stratigraphic excavations, showing the foundations and skilled stone working by the masons. to the right, a long series of street surfaces are preserved that date to the use of the mosque; the later date of the smaller Phase-2 miḥrāb can be seen in the way it sits on top of surfaces contemporary with the original Phase-1 mosque and its miḥrāb

(Islamic Jarash Project/ Department of antiquities of Jordan, IJP_B&W-360).

Walmsley (2018)

from Walmsley (2018)
Fig. 8 - North wall

Figure 8

Raised bench with mosaic floor paving and adjoining basin along north wall of GO Building B during excavations in 2013, view facing east (IJP_D_15356)

(© Islamic Jarash Project 2017)

Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)

of GO building B from Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)

Phasing

Excavation Areas

from Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)
Rattenborg and Blanke (2017) noted that in chronological terms, occupational phases are well documented for the 7th-10th centuries, with scarcer bodies of evidence dating to the 11th-13th centuries available from the general excavation area, but with limited stratigraphic grounding.

**Excavation Areas**
Area	Description
MO	congregational mosque on the southwest corner of the Roman tetrakionion
GO	adjoined domestic quarters to the west of MO
SO	south of the mosque qibla wall in an alleyway bordering the ruins of the Roman macellum
EA	eastern side of the main north-south thoroughfare
ED	close to the eastern edge of the current antiquities area

Congregational Mosque Phasing

from Walmsley (2018:248-250)

**Congregational Mosque Phasing**
Phase	Date	Description
1	ca. 725-735 CE	an event dated by post-reform Umayyad coinage and ceramics recovered from under-floor fills, and through a comparative study of other mosques datable from the seventh to tenth centuries AD. The building of a mosque could not commence until a three-hundred-year-plus bathhouse had been cleared from the site — which, above all, indicates that the social and commercial centrality of the position, rather than any previous sanctity, determined the choice of the location.
2	mid-eighth to mid-tenth/early-eleventh centuries AD	This phase, the longest and most complex of the three, sees numerous adaptations in the arrangement of space in and around the mosque and the probable function of these areas resulting from their redesign. The chronology of these changes is not as clear-cut as Phase 1, and there is no evidence to suggest that the different structural rearrangements happened as one event; rather, the changes would seem to represent a progressive and longterm alteration to the role and function of the mosque in central Jerash over several centuries. Sadly, the very disturbed condition of the archaeological deposits within the mosque enclosure was not conducive to providing a distinct stratigraphic framework for dating the Phase 2 (and Phase 3) changes; by and large, the chronology has been developed primarily from Hugh Barnes’s observed architectural sequence. The long history of Phase 2 ended with the catastrophic collapse of the prayer hall and the subsequent salvaging of building materials. During excavation, many pieces of ceramic roof tile were recovered from the prayer-hall area; only a few were discovered unbroken, suggesting the area was picked over to recover usable tile. finds associated with the collapse deposits, including a distinctive coarse-wear lamp found intact, suggests Phase 2 ended sometime in the late tenth to early/mid-eleventh centuries AD.
3	into the thirteenth century AD or later	A smaller occupation into the thirteenth century AD or later, based on finds recovered from the terminal phase of the mosque floor. Most of the evidence for this phase was recovered from the smaller western room of the prayer hall. The condition and function of the rest of the mosque enclosure area in Phase 3 is unclear due to the complete loss of archaeological deposits through erosion and later interventions. Phase 3 ended with the collapse of the roofing, followed by widespread evidence for subsequent stone removal, pit digging, and agricultural terracing, all of which entailed significant effort. It is about this time that the mamlūk-period mosque was built at the nearby village of suf, using spolia sourced from Jerash. In general terms, while stone removal and farming are activities usually associated with the setting up of a Circassian settlement in Jerash at the end of the nineteenth century, these activities should not be discounted as being practised earlier during Mamlūk and early Ottoman times (c. fourteenth/fifteenth centuries AD and later).

Historical/Stratigraphic Overview

from Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)

**Historical/Stratigraphic Overview**
Label	Dates	Discussion
Material resilience and political novelties	ca. 650-749 CE	Discussion The surrender of north Jordan to the armies of `Umar in the 630ies left most of the urban principalities in the Jordan highlands and around the Dead Sea largely untouched by the political upheavals of the day. At an archaeological level, a tangible divide between the old and the new certainly escapes us (Avni 2014: 101-106; Walmsley 2007a: 46-47). ... Only with the reforms of al-Walid Ibn `Abd al-Malik (r. 705-715) do we see a formal attempt at adapting past administrative divisions to the ruling apparatus of the Umayyad caliphs (Walmsley and Damgaard 2005: 362-363), and only under his successor Higam Ibn `Abd al-Malik (r. 724-743) did Jarash see its first substantial monument to the new order, the congregational mosque, erected on the southwest corner of the central tetrakionion, at the heart of the Roman cityscape. The prominence and omnipresence of the Christian churches, which remained active communal centres long after the Muslim conquest betrays a similar entanglement of old institutions and novel social currents (Schick 1995: 315-322), echoed also in the evolution of civic and domestic architecture. ... In all, there is little in the way of a clear break in spatial organisation between Byzantine and Umayyad strata of the late 7th and early 8th century across the Jarash townscape, e.g. along the main streets and around the Oval Piazza (Barghouti 1982). Industrial installations in various parts of the city, especially within the North Theatre (Clark et al. 1986: 235-239; Schaefer & Falkner 1986), in front of the Temple of Artemis, in the former Propylaeum Church (Brizzi et al. 2010: 357-358; Parapetti et al. 1986, 188-192), around the Temple of Zeus, and in the Hippodrome (Bessard 2013: 402-406) illustrate renewed use of communal spaces that had shown signs of abandonment during the late 6th and early 7th centuries (also Avni 2014: 97; Walmsley 2007b, 334-335;)
The earthquake of 749 - and its aftermath	ca. 750-900	Discussion available archaeological evidence from Jarash demonstrates that whereas the earthquake of 749 may have brought about destruction at an unprecedented scale, local communities and civic institutions alike proved able to withstand and overcome the disaster that had befallen them. The congregational mosque was rebuilt to match its former grandeur, in a form that remained in use for perhaps two centuries. As will be shown in more detail below, residential quarters in Area GO underwent significant remodelling, seeing new and extensive housing structures erected that remained occupied until the end of the 9th century at the very least. Commercial areas around the tetrakionion remained in use for a comparable span of time (Simpson 2008: 116), and while only partially excavated, a large compound with spacious, paved rooms east of the crossing in Area EA also seems to have been reused (Blanke et al. 2010: 317-320). Most recently, survey and excavation further afield from the mosque suggest that not only the centre, but also the city's entire southwest district saw continuous occupation into at least the 9th century (Blanke et al. 2015: 236; Blanke forthcoming). Still, evidence of post-750 settlement from elsewhere in Jarash is remarkably meagre in comparison with the preceding Umayyad occupation ... On the southwest hill, excavations conducted by the Late Antique Jarash Project (LAW) exposed a storeroom located in the southern part of a residential building and opening onto a courtyard. The stone-built walls were placed directly on bedrock with a floor comprised by hard-packed yellow clay. The installation of piers along the north and south walls as well as the recovery of arch-stones shows that the roof was vaulted and covered in the same yellow clay that was also used for the walls. The building collapsed in a single violent event — an earthquake — causing the structure to be abandoned. A deposit associated with the final use of the building and sealed by collapse, contained ceramic vessels associated with cooking and the storage of food. The ceramic assemblage comprised roughly 1,000 sherds amounting to 22 nearly intact vessels with only a few sherds from other pots. Of the 22 vessels, nine were larger pithoi-style storage containers, while the remaining 13 comprised smaller storage jars, cooking pots and a few examples of fine wares (Pappalardo forthcoming). Several vessels can confidently be dated to the Abbasid period. Most striking are sherds from three vessels that were produced in a hard black fabric with a polished surface, which are comparable to sherds found in Abbasid layers near the congregational mosque in the centre of town. A black beaker is distinctively Abbasid in its form and is comparable in shape to vessels found in e.g. Pella and Jerusalem and dating to the late 8th or 9th centuries. The fabric matches a rare ceramic specimen from Nabratein of the same early Abbasid date (Magness 1994). ... Given the prolonged usage of the Area GO housing units and the nature of the subsequent collapse, this event should be dated to the latter half of the 9th century at the earliest, perhaps corresponding with the collapse of the residential units on the hilltop (Blanke forthcoming). Associated structural collapse, outside the mosque qibla wall and within and around the domestic complexes to the east, is less imposing than the mid-8th century collapse layers, but a number of potentially significant earthquakes in the area are known from the late 9th and 10th centuries (see Ghawanmeh 1992: 56 and Table I; Sbeinati et al. 2005: 365-367 and Table II; also el-Isa 1985: 232-233 and Table 231).
Urban change, contraction, and dissolution	ca. 900-1000 CE	Discussion Following another round of structural collapse in the late 9th or early 10th century, the mosque was rebuilt to house a much more modest congregation, utilising only the westernmost third of the prayer hall, and leaving the spacious courtyard in a dilapidated state. Wall collapse clogged the laneway along the northwest perimeter wall of the mosque courtyard, blocking access from the main westward street, and was, apparently, never removed. Curiously enough, this collapse layer was not found in the passageway between the mosque's western entrance and its southwest corner, suggesting that access to the prayer hall from the residential units was maintained for a longer span of time.
Dissolving urban fabrics	ca. 1000-1200 CE	Discussion Moving into the late 10th century and beyond, structural remains in the IJP excavation area in general come to a halt. The exact lifespan of the third and final phase of the mosque still poses a series of questions, which will be addressed more thoroughly in a forthcoming article by Hugh Barnes and Alan Walmsley. The cache of 12th-14th century Ayyubid and Mamluk wares retrieved from the mosque prayer hall derives from later intrusions (Walmsley et al. 2008: 134) and bears no clear relation to the structure itself, which was, apparently, an abandoned ruin at this time. ... By the time of the fall of Acre in 1291, and after two centuries of sustained fighting and shifting allegiances, topped by the Mongol invasion of Syria in 1260 and their eventual defeat at the Battle of `Ain Mat at the hands of the rising Mamluk sultans, small wonder then that regional and administrative divisions diverted markedly from those described in 10th century historical accounts. Within this new regional framework the role of the hills and valleys of northwest Jordan had clearly changed. Writing in the early 13th century, the geographer Yaqut describes Jarash as a mere ruin, but notes the presence of many watermills along the Wadi Jarash (recently discussed in Lichtenberger and Raja 2016: 70-71), a testimony to a countryside that certainly did not lack in inhabitants or agricultural produce, but whose position within the wider Bilad al-Sam was very different from five centuries before.
Subtle continuities: Jarash in the Early and Middle Islamic Ages		Discussion While a proper understanding of Jarash in succeeding centuries, namely during the Crusades and the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods, is still a work in progress, recent findings by the Northwest Quarter Project indicates the presence of agglomerated housing units, perhaps farmsteads, o n the plateau to the northwest (Lichtenberger and Raja 2016; Peterson 2017). Considered together with traces of Mamluk occupation in the southern part of the city near the Temple of Zeus (Tholbecq 1997-1998), there are certainly indications of continued activity throughout Jarash even in the Middle Islamic Period.

The GO Complexes (RR)

from Blanke et al (2010:320)
Blanke et al (2010:320) noted the following:
Currently, excavation within GO numbers six 10 by 10 metres excavation units (GO/1-6) of which all but GO/3 have seen regular excavation over the years. As such, excavations within the GO constitute two separate areas, being GO/1-2 in the southeastern and GO/4-6 in the northeastern quadrant. The former has been excavated from 2005-2007, while investigations in the latter area started in 2007. So far, excavations within GO/4-6 have established a preliminary sequence of four consecutive building phases spanning the Late Umayyad-Early Abbasid periods

**Area GO**
Phase	Period	Dates	Notes
1	unknown	unknown
2	Early Abbasid	800 - 850 CE	GO/4-5: The Later Phases (1-2) - Preliminary dating of phase 2 suggests mid/late 9th century AD, based on a number of Abbasid Kerbschnitt Ware sherds found whilst excavating the contents of the pit located in the northern courtyard, mentioned above.
3/II	Abbasid	750 - 800 CE	GO/6: Abbasid Foundations and Cistern - No architectural features within the rectangular GO/6 structure were identified, and excavation only encountered a thick and fairly uniform layer of building stones, stemming either from collapse or used as fill.
3/I	Early Abbasid	750 - 800 CE	GO/4-5-6: The Early Abbasid Levels (Phase 3/I-II)
4	Late Umayyad	700- 750 CE	GO/4-5: The Late Umayyad House (Phase 4) - It should be noted that we have yet to properly verify the termination of the phase 4 structures as contemporary with the earthquake of 749, even though this seems a tempting link to draw from present evidence.

Area EA - East Area

from Blanke et al (2010:317)
Blanke et al (2010:317) noted the following:
Excavations in EA have confirmed the existence of shops along with a large building located east of the cardo, behind the shops. As such, the excavation area was quickly separated into two distinct areas. One area consists of the shops, the other, of the large building, which in the present article will be referred to as Building A.

**Area EA - East Area**
Phase	Period	Dates	Notes
1	unknown		Construction of Building A - The building appears to have been emptied and partly reconstructed, making it difficult to determine the date of its original construction. Its origin may will be in the Umayyad period, although the possibility of an earlier date is not dismissed. The high proportion of tumble uncovered throughout the excavation of EA suggests to a potential second storey.
2	Umayyad - Abbasid		Shops - Ceramic evidence from this shop suggests an occupation period ranging from the Umayyad to the Abbasid period.
3	Abbasid	about the tenth century	Reconstruction of Building A - The dating of the reconstruction of Building A is, for now, set to the Abbasid period (about the tenth century), based on a characteristic piece of blue glazed ceramic that was found associated with wall 5's foundation trench, thus providing a terminus post quem.
4	Medieval		Reuse of Building A
5	Modern		The top layers

North of the Bathing Suite - Central Baths (LB)

Blanke et al (2010) noted that there were 6 phases but did not provide a phasing table.
Sealed numismatic and ceramic finds have dated the construction of the bathhouse to the late third to early fourth century and its demise to the early eight century (Blanke et al. 2007: 196). The Central Baths went out of use when the area was redeveloped for the construction of a mosque.

... Excavations were carried out in an area covering 30 by 17 metres within five excavation units (MO/12, MO/16, MO/18, MO/19 and MO/21)

North of the Bathing Suite - Central Baths (LB)
Phase Period Dates Notes

1

2

3

4

5

6
Blanke et al (2024b:4) noted that numismatic and ceramic finds date the construction of the [central] bathhouse to the late 3rd or early 4th c. and suggest that it was dismantled in theearly 8th c. during the reorganization of the area for the construction of a congregational mosque.¹³

Footnotes

13 A coin of Elagabalus (r. 218–22 CE) in the bathhouse’s foundation along with a 3rd-c. ceramics assemblage provides the terminus post quem for the building’s construction (Blanke et al. 2007, 182). Umayyad-period pre-reform coins (ca. 660–80 CE) were retrieved from the last phases of use, and both pre- and post-reform coins were found in the infill of the hypocaust and the levelling done in preparation for the construction of the mosque (Blanke et al. 2007, 190–96). See also Walmsley 2018.
Walmsley (2018:251) discussed the bathhouse that preceded the Umayyad Congregational Mosque
Built around AD 300, the Central Bathhouse took up a space almost equal to that of the mosque and comprised bathing rooms, a service area, a sizable public latrine, and street-side shops. The excavation of the bathhouse (2002–10) revealed how it developed through five main phases until demolished, leaving only the foundations that were filled in to create a strong platform for the mosque builders. The final phase of the bathhouse saw a building much reduced in size, with only few heated rooms in use and bathing reduced to individual bathtubs; however, the evidence recovered reveals that social practices in the bathhouse remained the same. Large numbers of ceramic sherds, bones, jewellery, coins, and gaming pieces reveal a lively bathing culture that continued without a break into the early Islamic period. The excavation of the Central Bathhouse and the careful study of its associated finds offer a rare opportunity to access the daily lives of the people who inhabited Jerash from Roman to early Islamic times, foreshadowing and providing vital information on the rise of the Islamic ḥammām.

East and West of the Mosque - The Sūq (Area MO) and the Residential Complex (Area GO)

Maps and Plans

Fig. 16.8 - Early Islamic Jerash

Figure 16.8

Jerash congregational mosque, Phase 2, with surrounding structures of contemporary date (areas GO and EA Phase 3 = mosque Phase 2), dated mid-eighth to mid-tenth centuries AD, with some evidence of use into the early eleventh century AD

(plan by Rune Rattenborg, incorporating material previously published in Gawlikowski 1986; Kraeling 1938a; Simpson 2008a).

Walmsley (2018)

- ca. 800-1000 CE - from Walmsley (2018)

Discussion

Walmsley (2018:251) discussed the Sūq

The discovery of a row of shops along the eastern wall of the Phase-2 mosque (above), and in them a number of marble tablets with shopkeepers’ accounts in proficient Arabic, revealed the central role played by the mosque in the daily operation of the marketplace.

Walmsley (2018:251) discussed the Residential Complex

To the west of the mosque, separated from it by a narrow street (fig. 16.8), a large residential complex has been exposed that existed well before the construction of the mosque and continued as residences, with successive modifications, contemporaneously with the mosque. The three courtyard buildings uncovered were constructed around a network of streets and directly connected to the mosque by way of doorways in the west enclosure wall, thereby revealing that this residential quarter was fully integrated in the life of the mosque, most notably in Phase 2

mid 8th century CE Earthquake

The congregational Mosque of Jerash was uncovered in the 2000s and is located in the south half of Jerash just north of the Oval Plaza. Rattenborg and Blanke (2017) and Walmsley and Daamgaard (2005) both date construction to ~725 CE. Barnes et al (2006:295) identified an apparent single event collapse layer in the Qiblat Hall of the Mosque but did not supply a date. The collapse layer appears to be related to a 9th-10th century collapse layer found in nearby excavations of the Southwest Hill. Thus it appears that there is only rebuilding evidence for a mid 8th century CE earthquake in the Umayyad Congregational Mosque and environs. Blanke et al (2010:320) wrote the following about the termination of Phase 4 in excavation area GO (GO/4-5) which uncovered shops and housing east of the congregational mosque.

GO/4-5: The Late Umayyad House (Phase 4) - It should be noted that we have yet to properly verify the termination of the phase 4 structures as contemporary with the earthquake of 749, even though this seems a tempting link to draw from present evidence.

Blanke and Walmsley (2022:95-97) described the effects of the earthquake at the Umayyad Congregational Mosque and elsewhere in Jerash

In 749, after only a few decades of use, the mosque along with most of Jarash’s urban fabric was devastated by one or more massive seismic events.¹⁰⁸ The damage caused by the earthquake and the following discontinuation of structures is well documented throughout Jarash and has led scholars to assume a total abandonment of the town – a sentiment that still lingers today.¹⁰⁹ The excavations within north-west Jarash have generally identified a discontinuation after the mid-eighth century. This is evident, for example, in and around the North Theatre, the Artemis precinct and the Propylaeum Church, and further west on the plateau behind the Temple of Artemis and along sections of the south transverse street.¹¹⁰

It is worth noting, however, that sporadic evidence of post-earthquake activities has been found throughout the town. Among these are a coin hoard found within the North Theatre which included a Ṭūlūnid dinar dated to 894 as well as ninth-to eleventh-century housing found south-east of the theatre’s exterior wall.¹¹¹ Some traces of Abbāsid-period occupation of the Macellum adds to the evidence as does pottery finds that suggest some continuous activity in the Temple of Zeus.¹¹²

Yet the evidence for continuous occupation after 749 is by far the strongest in Jarash’s commercial and religious centre at the intersection of the two main thoroughfares and in the south-west district. Recent archaeological investigations in Jarash’s south-west district suggests that this area was crucial to maintaining the central functions of urban life and therefore, the financial investment in the restoration of the town and the efforts put towards reconstruction were concentrated here.¹¹³

After the earthquake of 749, the mosque was rebuilt to its former dimensions, but its main entrance was blocked as was its central miḥrāb.¹¹⁴ Instead, a new entrance was constructed on the axial street on the east side of the mosque, while a smaller doorway was set into the mosque’s western wall giving access to the porticoed courtyard with an ablution feature set immediately inside the doorway. The prayer hall was subdivided into two with a smaller section set apart in the western end. A new miḥrāb was constructed centrally in the shortened prayer hall, while another was added to the western enclosure. At some point a minaret was added to the north-east interior corner of the courtyard. Following the rebuilding of the mosque, shops were added to its east façade, just south of the new entrance and also across the axial street on its east side. Here, a large building that may have served an administrative purpose was rebuilt using the walls of an earlier building as foundations.¹¹⁵ The reconfiguation of the mosque marks not only a substantial investment in the built environment after 749, but also allows us to identify a reduction in the importance of the western section of the south transverse street. Instead, the mosque was now accessed from the markets (to the east) and the habitation (to the west).¹¹⁶

Footnotes

108 See summary of textual sources pertinent to this earthquake in Ambraseys, Earthquakes, 230–238.

109 Most recently in 2019, Lichtenberger and Raja have questioned the accuracy of the Islamic Jarash Project's interpretation of an extensive Abbasid-period rebuilding of the mosque. They have also questioned the results of the excavation of the Umayyad House on the north side of the south transverse street, which documented continuous usage into the ninth century Lichtenberger and Raja states that `for now, we need to return to the view that the earthquake of 749 indeed had a catastrophic impact on Jerash, and if anything survived, it was only a shadow of the city's former grandeur: Lichtenberger and Raja, `Defining borders', 282.

110 North theatre: Ball et al., `The North Decumanus', 365; Clark and Bowsher, `The Jerash north theatre'; the Artemis precinct and the Propylaeum Church: Brizzi et al., `Italian excavations at Jarash', 357-358; Plateau behind the Temple of Artemis: see, for example, Lichtenberger and Raja, `Defining borders'; the south transverse street: Barghouti, `Urbanization of Palestine and Jordan', 219-221.

111 Clark and Bowsher, `The Jerash north theatre', 237-238,241-243.

112 Macellum: Uscatescu and Martin Bueno, `The Macellum of Gerasa', 82-84; Uscatescu and Marot, `The Ancient Macellum of Gerasa', 297-299; Temple of Zeus: Bessard, `The urban economy', 411 and fig. 14.

113 Some of this ground is also covered in Blanke, 1Re)constructing Jarash' and in Rattenborg and Blanke, lard in the Islamic Ages'. See also Blanke, Abbasid Jerash Reconsidered'; Blanke et al., `The 2011 season of the Late Antique Jarash Project'; Blanke et al., `Excavation and magnetic prospection'; Blanke et al., A millennium of unbroken habitation'; Pappalardo, `The Late Antique Jerash Project'.

114 This paragraph is summarised from Walmsley, `Urbanism at Islamic Jarash', 248-250.

115 Blanke et al., ‘Changing cityscapes in central Jarash’; Rattenborg and Blanke, ‘Jaraš in the Islamic Ages’.

116 For the markets, see Simpson, ‘Market Buildings at Jarash’. For the habitation, see Rattenborg and Blanke, ‘Jaraš in the Islamic Ages’ and also work by Blanke reporting the usage of the southwest hilltop.

El-Isa (1985) noted that the Umayyad mosque [of Jerash] appears to have been demolished and removed and with a relic of its Mihrab the only indications left of its existence. This does not appear to refer to the Umayyad Mosque but to a a structure in northeastern Jerash that was discovered and identified as a mosque in 1981 (Naghawi, 1982) but whose identification is now considered somewhat doubtful ( Walmsley and Daamgaard, 2005:364) - i.e. the '1981' mosque is now thought not to have been a mosque.

Latter half of the 9th -10th (perhaps early 10th) century CE Earthquake

Rattenborg and Blanke (2017:11) report the following:

The later phase of occupation in the domestic complexes, bracketed between 800-900, saw the addition of steps in several outer doorways to prevent refuse and accumulated soil on exterior surfaces from slipping into living quarters. This corroborates the long period of usage inferable from architectural alterations. Occupation was punctuated by another round of structural collapse, which is associated with the abandonment of two rooms in the northern wing of Building B and with the collapse and subsequent infilling of the subsurface compartment around the cistern shaft in the courtyard of the same structure. Finds of discarded fragments of reduction-fired roof tiles in subsurface packing of the latest phase of domestic occupation in Area GO can be associated with identical material retrieved from underneath a substantial wall collapse in the laneway between the mosque west wall and Building A, and suggest that the dwellings in Area GO may have had tiled roofs. These strata likely relate to the same event that marked the termination of the penultimate phase of the congregational mosque.

Given the prolonged usage of the Area GO housing units and the nature of the subsequent collapse, this event should be dated to the latter half of the 9th century at the earliest, perhaps corresponding with the collapse of the residential units on the [Southwest] hilltop (Blanke forthcoming). Associated structural collapse, outside the mosque qiblat wall and within and around the domestic complexes to the east, is less imposing than the mid-8th century collapse layers, but a number of potentially significant earthquakes in the area are known from the late 9th and 10th centuries (see Ghawanmeh 1992: p. 56 Table I; Sbeinati et al. 2005: pp. 365-367 and Table II; also el-Isa 1985: pp. 232-233 and Table 1 JW: I suggest cross-checking catalogues of Ambraseys, 2009, Guidoboni et. al., 1994, and this one instead). Pottery finds from paved floors of GO Phase 3/II in Building A provides a good range of material characteristic of a late 8th — 9th century date with painted red terracotta and cream and pale orange wares well represented, accentuating the changing horizons of Early Islamic material culture (Walmsley 1995: 668; 2001b: 310). A nearly complete decorated Cream Ware jug was retrieved from below wall collapse overlying a paved floor in the eastern part of Building A. Comparable material is available from the Abbasid housings further north (Gawlikowski 1986: Plates XII-XIII; also Gawlikowski 1995), and finds further parallels e.g. in the assemblage from Area Z at Umm Qais (Gadara) (el-Khouri and Omoush 2015: 17-20).

Rattenborg and Blanke (2017:13) add:

Following another round of structural collapse in the late 9th or early 10th century, the mosque was rebuilt to house a much more modest congregation, utilising only the westernmost third of the prayer hall, and leaving the spacious courtyard in a dilapidated state. Wall collapse clogged the laneway along the northwest perimeter wall of the mosque courtyard, blocking access from the main westward street, and was, apparently, never removed. Curiously enough, this collapse layer was not found in the passageway between the mosque's western entrance and its southwest corner, suggesting that access to the prayer hall from the residential units was maintained for a longer span of time.

Based on the above, it appears that the collapse layer described (below) but not dated by Barnes et al (2006:295) fell during the 9th or 10th centuries CE.

The Qiblat Hall (IRS)

... So far over five tonnes of roof tile pieces have been found within the Qiblat hall. The oblong plan of the hall, with its qiblat wall, the double colonnade and the row of entrance piers, suggests a long triple-gabled roof covered the qiblat hall. The tile fragments have mostly been recovered from a thick dark layer that is largely uniform throughout the qiblat hall. No complete roofing tiles have been found, probably because any roof tiles that had not smashed were taken for reuse elsewhere after the initial collapse of the roof. Other salvageable building materials were also taken and only a few small areas of the paved floor remain. Post-collapse salvaging activity would explain the disturbance of the collapse layer.

There is a great deal of stone tumble lying outside the mosque walls from the collapse of the qiblat hall. Much less stone is found inside the hall, which shows that the walls fell outwards, pushed by the force of the heavy roof. The pattern of the fallen outer walls, the uniformity of the collapse layer and abundance of roof tile fragments indicate that the roof and some of the mosque walls collapsed in one event.

Rattenborg and Blanke (2017:15) noted that the extant archaeological record of the 9th-11th centuries is notoriously meagre and marred by an unstaisfactory degree of chronological control.

mid 8th century CE Earthquake

It appears that archaeoseismic evidence for the mid 8th century CE earthquake at the Congregational Ummayad Mosque and surroundings is based on rebuilding evidence rather than observed and dated seismic destruction layers. The second Mihrab, supposedly built after this earthquake, suggests that an extensive rebuild was required and that the Mosque was heavily damaged during the earthquake.

Latter half of the 9th -10th (perhaps early 10th) century CE Earthquake

Effect	Location	Image(s)	Description
Structual collapse - i.e. collapsed walls Roof collapse Cistern collapse	GO area - two rooms in the northern wing of Building B and subsurface compartment around the cistern shaft in the courtyard of the same structure (note that Building B is to the west of building A) Figure 7 Early Islamic Jerash ca. 750-850 CE Rattenborg and Blanke (2017) Figure 11 Early Islamic Jerash ca. 950-1000 CE Rattenborg and Blanke (2017) Figure 3 Islamic Jerash Project Excavation Areas 2002-2013 Rattenborg and Blanke (2017) Figure 1 Overview of Islamic Jarash Project following excavations in 2009 (by Hugh Barnes). Blanke et al (2010)	Fig. 8 Figure 8 Raised bench with mosaic floor paving and adjoining basin along north wall of GO Building B during excavations in 2013, view facing east (IJP_D_15356) (© Islamic Jarash Project 2017) Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)	Occupation was punctuated by another round of structural collapse, which is associated with the abandonment of two rooms in the northern wing of Building B and with the collapse and subsequent infilling of the subsurface compartment around the cistern shaft in the courtyard of the same structure. Finds of discarded fragments of reduction-fired roof tiles in subsurface packing of the latest phase of domestic occupation in Area GO can be associated with identical material retrieved from underneath a substantial wall collapse in the laneway between the mosque west wall and Building A, and suggest that the dwellings in Area GO may have had tiled roofs. These strata likely relate to the same event that marked the termination of the penultimate phase of the congregational mosque. - Rattenborg and Blanke (2017:11)
collapsed walls Roof collapse	GO area - laneway between the mosque west wall and Building A, eastern interior of Building A, and possibly square GO/6 (note that Building B is to the west of building A) Figure 7 Early Islamic Jerash ca. 750-850 CE Rattenborg and Blanke (2017) Figure 11 Early Islamic Jerash ca. 950-1000 CE Rattenborg and Blanke (2017) Figure 3 Islamic Jerash Project Excavation Areas 2002-2013 Rattenborg and Blanke (2017) Figure 1 Overview of Islamic Jarash Project following excavations in 2009 (by Hugh Barnes). Blanke et al (2010)	Fig. 15 Figure 15 GO/6 at the end of the 2009 season, seen from the west. Note the cistern drain in the bottom of the picture (by IJP). Blanke et al (2010)	Occupation was punctuated by another round of structural collapse, which is associated with the abandonment of two rooms in the northern wing of Building B and with the collapse and subsequent infilling of the subsurface compartment around the cistern shaft in the courtyard of the same structure. Finds of discarded fragments of reduction-fired roof tiles in subsurface packing of the latest phase of domestic occupation in Area GO can be associated with identical material retrieved from underneath a substantial wall collapse in the laneway between the mosque west wall and Building A, and suggest that the dwellings in Area GO may have had tiled roofs. These strata likely relate to the same event that marked the termination of the penultimate phase of the congregational mosque. - Rattenborg and Blanke (2017:11) A nearly complete decorated Cream Ware jug (Fig. 10) was retrieved from below wall collapse overlying a paved floor in the eastern part of Building A - Rattenborg and Blanke (2017:11) Fig. 15 from Blanke et. al. (2010) may show collapse in square GO/6 from around this time.
collapsed walls (collapsing outward) Roof collapse	Congregational Mosque - qiblat Hall Figure 4 Plan of the mosque, showing excavated areas to 2004 Barnes et al (2006) Figure 3 Preliminary outline plan of the Umayyad mosque of Jarash (as after 2004 season). Walmsley and Daamgaard (2005) Figure 3 Islamic Jerash Project Excavation Areas 2002-2013 Rattenborg and Blanke (2017) Figure 1 Overview of Islamic Jarash Project following excavations in 2009 (by Hugh Barnes). Blanke et al (2010) Figure 1 General plan of the excavations in central Jarash, to end of 2007 season (Barnes mod. Walmsley) Walmsley et al (2008)		So far over five tonnes of roof tile pieces have been found within the Qiblat hall. The oblong plan of the hall, with its qiblat wall, the double colonnade and the row of entrance piers, suggests a long triple-gabled roof covered the qiblat hall. The tile fragments have mostly been recovered from a thick dark layer that is largely uniform throughout the qiblat hall. No complete roofing tiles have been found, probably because any roof tiles that had not smashed were taken for reuse elsewhere after the initial collapse of the roof. Other salvageable building materials were also taken and only a few small areas of the paved floor remain. Post-collapse salvaging activity would explain the disturbance of the collapse layer. There is a great deal of stone tumble lying outside the mosque walls from the collapse of the qiblat hall. Much less stone is found inside the hall, which shows that the walls fell outwards, pushed by the force of the heavy roof. The pattern of the fallen outer walls, the uniformity of the collapse layer and abundance of roof tile fragments indicate that the roof and some of the mosque walls collapsed in one event. - Barnes et al (2006:295) This evidence is undated by Barnes et al (2006:295) but appears to be related to the 9th -10th century CE earthquake event

Latter half of the 9th -10th (perhaps early 10th) century CE Earthquake

Modified by JW from Fig. 12 of Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)

Deformation Map

Modified by JW from Fig. 12 of Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)

Latter half of the 9th -10th (perhaps early 10th) century CE Earthquake

Earthquake Archeological Effects chart

Earthquake Archeological Effects (EAE)

Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224)

of Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224)

Effect	Location	Image(s)	Description	Intensity
Structural collapse - i.e. collapsed walls Roof collapse Cistern collapse	GO area - two rooms in the northern wing of Building B and subsurface compartment around the cistern shaft in the courtyard of the same structure (note that Building B is to the west of building A) Figure 7 Early Islamic Jerash ca. 750-850 CE Rattenborg and Blanke (2017) Figure 11 Early Islamic Jerash ca. 950-1000 CE Rattenborg and Blanke (2017) Figure 3 Islamic Jerash Project Excavation Areas 2002-2013 Rattenborg and Blanke (2017) Figure 1 Overview of Islamic Jarash Project following excavations in 2009 (by Hugh Barnes). Blanke et al (2010)	Fig. 8 Figure 8 Raised bench with mosaic floor paving and adjoining basin along north wall of GO Building B during excavations in 2013, view facing east (IJP_D_15356) (© Islamic Jarash Project 2017) Rattenborg and Blanke (2017)	Occupation was punctuated by another round of structural collapse, which is associated with the abandonment of two rooms in the northern wing of Building B and with the collapse and subsequent infilling of the subsurface compartment around the cistern shaft in the courtyard of the same structure. Finds of discarded fragments of reduction-fired roof tiles in subsurface packing of the latest phase of domestic occupation in Area GO can be associated with identical material retrieved from underneath a substantial wall collapse in the laneway between the mosque west wall and Building A, and suggest that the dwellings in Area GO may have had tiled roofs. These strata likely relate to the same event that marked the termination of the penultimate phase of the congregational mosque. - Rattenborg and Blanke (2017:11)	VIII+ (collapsed walls)
collapsed walls Roof collapse	GO area - laneway between the mosque west wall and Building A, eastern interior of Building A, and possibly square GO/6 (note that Building B is to the west of building A) Figure 7 Early Islamic Jerash ca. 750-850 CE Rattenborg and Blanke (2017) Figure 11 Early Islamic Jerash ca. 950-1000 CE Rattenborg and Blanke (2017) Figure 3 Islamic Jerash Project Excavation Areas 2002-2013 Rattenborg and Blanke (2017) Figure 1 Overview of Islamic Jarash Project following excavations in 2009 (by Hugh Barnes). Blanke et al (2010)	Fig. 15 Figure 15 GO/6 at the end of the 2009 season, seen from the west. Note the cistern drain in the bottom of the picture (by IJP). Blanke et al (2010)	Occupation was punctuated by another round of structural collapse, which is associated with the abandonment of two rooms in the northern wing of Building B and with the collapse and subsequent infilling of the subsurface compartment around the cistern shaft in the courtyard of the same structure. Finds of discarded fragments of reduction-fired roof tiles in subsurface packing of the latest phase of domestic occupation in Area GO can be associated with identical material retrieved from underneath a substantial wall collapse in the laneway between the mosque west wall and Building A, and suggest that the dwellings in Area GO may have had tiled roofs. These strata likely relate to the same event that marked the termination of the penultimate phase of the congregational mosque. - Rattenborg and Blanke (2017:11) A nearly complete decorated Cream Ware jug (Fig. 10) was retrieved from below wall collapse overlying a paved floor in the eastern part of Building A - Rattenborg and Blanke (2017:11) Fig. 15 from Blanke et. al. (2010) may show collapse in square GO/6 from around this time.	VIII+ (collapsed walls)
collapsed walls (collapsing outward) Roof collapse	Congregational Mosque - qiblat Hall Figure 4 Plan of the mosque, showing excavated areas to 2004 Barnes et al (2006) Figure 3 Preliminary outline plan of the Umayyad mosque of Jarash (as after 2004 season). Walmsley and Daamgaard (2005) Figure 3 Islamic Jerash Project Excavation Areas 2002-2013 Rattenborg and Blanke (2017) Figure 1 Overview of Islamic Jarash Project following excavations in 2009 (by Hugh Barnes). Blanke et al (2010) Figure 1 General plan of the excavations in central Jarash, to end of 2007 season (Barnes mod. Walmsley) Walmsley et al (2008)		So far over five tonnes of roof tile pieces have been found within the Qiblat hall. The oblong plan of the hall, with its qiblat wall, the double colonnade and the row of entrance piers, suggests a long triple-gabled roof covered the qiblat hall. The tile fragments have mostly been recovered from a thick dark layer that is largely uniform throughout the qiblat hall. No complete roofing tiles have been found, probably because any roof tiles that had not smashed were taken for reuse elsewhere after the initial collapse of the roof. Other salvageable building materials were also taken and only a few small areas of the paved floor remain. Post-collapse salvaging activity would explain the disturbance of the collapse layer. There is a great deal of stone tumble lying outside the mosque walls from the collapse of the qiblat hall. Much less stone is found inside the hall, which shows that the walls fell outwards, pushed by the force of the heavy roof. The pattern of the fallen outer walls, the uniformity of the collapse layer and abundance of roof tile fragments indicate that the roof and some of the mosque walls collapsed in one event. - Barnes et al (2006:295) This evidence is undated by Barnes et al (2006:295) but appears to be related to the 9th -10th century CE earthquake event	VIII+ (collapsed walls)

The archeoseismic evidence requires a minimum Intensity of VIII (8) when using the Earthquake Archeological Effects chart of Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224).

References

Articles and Books

Barnes, H. et al. (2006) From ‘Guard House’ to Congregational Mosque. Recent Discoveries on the Urban History of Islamic Jarash, in: Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 50, 285 – 314.

Blanke, L. / P. D. Lorien / R. Rattenborg (2010) Changing Cityscapes in Central Jarash – between Late Antiquity and the Abbasid Period, in: Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 54, 311– 327.

Blanke, L. and Walmsley, A. (2010) Islamic Jarash Project In Archaeology in Jordan, 2008 and 2009 seasons, edited by D. Keller and C. Tuttle. American Journal of Archaeology 114 505-545.

Blanke, L., et al. (2021). "Excavation and magnetic prospection in Jarash’s southwest district: The 2015 and 2016 seasons of the Late Antique Jarash Project." Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 60.

Blanke, L. and A. Walmsley (2022). Resilient cities: Renewal after disaster in three late antique towns of the East Mediterranean. Remembering and Forgetting the Ancient City, Oxbow Books: 69-109.

Blanke, L., et al. (2024b). "Down the drain: reconstructing social practice from the content of two sewers in a Late Antique bathhouse in Jerash, Jordan." Journal of Roman Archaeology: 1-23. - open access

Naghaweh, A. (1982) An Umayyad Mosque at Jerash, in: Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 26, 20 – 22 [Arabic].

Rattenborg, R. and L. Blanke (2017). "Jarash in the Islamic Ages (c. 700–1200 CE): a critical review." Levant 49(3): 312-332. - early manuscript - open access - page numbers differ from final publication

Rattenborg, R. and L. Blanke (2017). "Jarash in the Islamic Ages (c. 700–1200 CE): a critical review." Levant 49(3): 312-332. - final publication - behind a paywall - this is the document referred to on this webpage

Walmsley, A., Damgaard K., (2005) The Umayyad Congregational Mosque of Jarash in Jordan and Its Relationship to Early Mosques, in: Antiquity 79, 362 – 378.

Walmsley, A. and F. Bessard, L. Blanke, K. Damgaard, A. Mellah, L. Roenje, I. Simpson. (2008) A Mosque, Shops and Bath in Central Jarash: The 2007 Season of the Islamic Jarash Project. ADAJ 52

Walmsley, A. (2018). Urbanism at Islamic Jerash: New Readings from Archaeology and History. in The archaeology and history of Jerash : 110 years of excavations. A. R. R. Lichtenberger.

Websites

The Islamic Jerash Project

Jerash - Umayyad Mosque