Excavations in the Armenian Garden of the Armenian Quarter uncovered three Byzantine–Early Islamic phases reflecting two distinct episodes of destruction and rebuilding. Zimni-Gitler in Lichtenberger and Raja (2025) reinterprets Tushingham’s attribution of two “washouts” marking the ends of the Byzantine I and Byzantine II phases, suggesting they may represent seismic rather than purely hydrological events.

The first transition—from a small Christian chapel of the Byzantine I phase to a completely re-oriented courtyard complex of the Byzantine II phase—suggests a significant break in occupation. Instead of an undefined “washout,” this shift may reflect rebuilding after an earthquake, plausibly associated with the 659/660 CE Jordan Valley earthquakes. Such an event could explain the abrupt abandonment of the chapel.

A second destructive event could mark the transition from Byzantine II to Byzantine III. The “great washout” that ended the second phase and the subsequent partial reconstruction with reduced courtyard space mirror urban reorganization observed elsewhere in Jerusalem by Zimni-Gitler in Lichtenberger and Raja (2025) after the 749 CE Sabbatical Year earthquakes. Burnt plaster and fallen tiles sealed beneath the final floor could represent building collapse rather than hydrological erosion proposed by the original excavator.

Redating proposed by Zimni-Gitler (2025) and by Magness (1991) extends the occupation of the Armenian Garden into the Umayyad and Abbasid periods, challenging Tushingham’s assumption of a seventh-century abandonment. Viewed in this light, the two “washouts” may record mid-seventh and mid-eighth century seismic events rather than floods or conquest disturbances.