Alfonsi et al. (2013) suggested that the causitive earthquake for the major seismic destruction at Hisham's Palace was the earthquake(s) of 1033/4 CE unlike previous researchers who dated it to one of the 749 CE Sabbatical Year earthquakes. They noted that, according to Whitcomb (1988), "the archaeological data testify to an uninterrupted occupancy from eighth century until 1000 A.D.," which meant that the destructive earthquake which led to temporary site abandonment or contraction likely occurred after 1000 CE. They also noted that "toppled walls and columns in the central court cover debris containing 750–850 A.D. old ceramic shards (Whitcomb, 1988)," and "recently unearthed collapses north of the court confirm a widespread destruction after the eighth century ( Jericho Mafjar Project – The Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago)". The next occupational phase after the Later Earthquake started in ~1200 CE and continued until ~1400 CE. Alfonsi et al. (2013) assigned an intensity of IX–X to the Later Earthquake and VII to the Earlier one.
