• from Rutenberg and Levy
• some earthquake date assignments are incorrect

The al Aqsa, the third most sacred mosque in the Muslim religion (after Mecca and Medina), was constructed at the southern side of Temple Mount at the end of the 7th and early 8th century. It is a traditional stone masonry building. Damaged in the 710 and 713/14(?) EQs, and destroyed in the 749 (746 -748?) EQ, it was rebuilt in 758. It was again damaged due to poor construction and/or EQs in 771 and 774, and then rebuilt on a new plan in 780. It was again damaged in 859, 1033, following which extensive rebuilding took place in 1035, including the cupola that still stand to this day. In 1060 the roof of al Aqsa collapsed. The Crusaders who occupied Jerusalem in 1099 turned it into a royal palace, and part of it was given to the Templars. During that period some internal changes took place and several wings were added. No EQ damage to the al Aqsa was reported until 1927. However, the British, who occupied Palestine in 1917, found the mosque, and also other building in Temple Mount, in a state of total neglect and on the verge of collapse. Restoration work started in 1924 most probably saved the building from total collapse in the 1927 EQ. The damage from the 1927 event was extensive (Fig. 7), and necessitated the continuation of the restoration. Following a minor EQ in 1937 extensive restoration took place during 1938-1942, involving demolition of the eastern longitudinal walls and arcades. Old columns were replaced by new marble ones imported from Italy. Following arson in 1969, the mosque was severely damaged, and restoration work was completed only in the mid 1990's. Stabilization of the mosque's foundations by massive concreting in the underground voids adjacent to the Ancient al Aqsa (or the Double Gate) - located under the mosque - was carried out in the 1970's, and its extensive excavations and restoration of took place in the 1990's. A detailed description of the mosque can be found in Hamilton's monograph (1949).

• from Rutenberg and Levy
• some earthquake date assignments are incorrect

After the conquest of Jerusalem in 638 the Muslims embraced the sanctity of Temple Mount, and built the original al Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, both at the late 7th and early 8th century. The octagonal building dates from the early 9th century. It is covered by two practically independent wooden domes: an external one of an elliptical shape recently covered by gilded copper sheets, and internal one of circular shape, with circa one metre space between the two to allow inspection and maintenance. Whereas the present ornamented internal dome dates from the early 11th century, the external one, built to protect the former, is recent. After the reoccupation of Jerusalem by the Arabs in 1187 the dome was refurbished. The building is considered to be an architectural gem by most experts.

The structure was severely damaged by the 749 (746-748?) EQ. Renovation started in the 780's and apparently completed by Mamoun in 813. Some damage to the dome, or just the fall of its candelabra, was reported following the 1060 EQ. The dome was damaged again in 1068. The 1546 M_L = 7 EQ caused the collapse of the dome. As already noted, the British found the Dome of the Rock in a state of neglect, and restoration work started in 1924. It is difficult to estimate the effect of the 1927 EQ on the building. One press report stated that the Dome of the Rock was badly shaken and many repairs of recent years were made useless.

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Stratigraphic Section

Discussion

Mazar (1969) concluded that stratum A1 ended with an earthquake which destroyed a large Umayyad Building south of Temple Mount about a generation or two after its construction. The earthquake was said to have collapsed its walls and columns and produced a considerable pile of rubble. They correlated the earthquake with one of the Sabbatical Year Quakes. They further noted that there were partial repairs during the Abbasid period (second half of the 8th century A.D.) and that the paved street and the gateway of the building continued to be used in stratum A2, and the water system was modified drastically.

Ben Dov (1985:275-276) examined artifacts from a sewage canal that collected refuse from before the building was destroyed. In the canal, he found pottery (Khirbet Mafjar ware) dating to the first half of the 8th century CE. Ben Dov (1985:321) reports archaeoseismic evidence from the earthquake including cracked walls, warped foundations, fallen columns, and sunken floors. All this evidence would have come from Building 2 immediately S of Haram esh-Sharif - according to Prag (2000:245).

Ben-Dov in Yadin et al (1976:97-101) reported the following:

So far, six enormous buildings have been found, comprising a single complex. The plan of the largest of them, building II, closely resembles those of the palaces of the Omayyad period in this country, in Transjordan and in Syria.

... The stratigraphic picture and the finds confirm this dating. Beneath the floors of the building and beneath the associated streets - houses, installations and channels came to light together with an abundance of finds including much pottery and thousands of coins, and stamped roof-tiles of the Byzantine period — all from late in that period. In the stratum above the building-complex, which was destroyed in a natural catastrophe and not rebuilt (see below), remains of a very meagre settlement of the 9th century C.E. were found amongst the ruins. The complex had been equipped with a broad, well-planned sewer network, which remained unknown to the people of the meagre settlement. Various finds came to light in this sewer network, which relate to the latest phase of its use, including complete pottery vessels of "Khirbet Mefjer ware", and coins of the 8th century C.E. This was a most important archaeological discovery, for it is the first time large structures of the Omayyad period (660-750 C.E.) were found outside the Haram esh-Sherif.

... At the end of the Byzantine period, a residential quarter lay adjacent to the walls of the Temple Mount, which appear to have towered to their full height at that time. This quarter included public buildings, and private houses of one and two storeys, with open areas between utilized for gardening. The Parthian conquest of Jerusalem in 614 C.E. also left its imprint here. The Southern Wall was especially damaged, a large breach having been forced. During the Byzantine reconquest, and early in the period of the Arab conquest, no significant changes seem to have taken place in this area, occurring only under the Omayyad caliphs, who established an extensive religious centre in Jerusalem. Of this project we had known only of the structures within the Haram: the Dome of the Rock, el-Aqsa mosque and other smaller monuments. We now know that the large breach in the Southern Wall was repaired by the planners of the entire Omayyad complex, and that the "Double Gate" in its present form was also built by them.

The six structures uncovered were planned as a complex in conjunction with the Temple Mount. As noted, the outstanding structure is building II, which we have defined as a palace. This definition is based largely on the evidence of a bridge which had connected the roof of building II with el-Aqsa mosque, spanning the street running along the Southern Wall and enabling direct access from the roof of the building into the mosque. It is assumed that the place was erected by the Caliph el-Walid I (705-715 C.E.).

... The existence of a second storey in building II is indicated by the level of the abovementioned bridge, as well as by a system of drain-pipes lying within the walls, leading to the central sewers beneath the groundfloor-level. There seem to have been various installations in this upper storey, such as kitchens and toilets.

... The five other buildings around building II have only incompletely been excavated, and thus their full study remains for the future.

... From among the plethora of finds from these buildings, we may note the large number of architectural fragments — capitals, friezes, architraves and balustres, as well as fresco fragments and some stucco-work. Among the many pottery types of this period, most notable are the zoomorphic and glazed vessels, which already began making their appearance in this country at this time. Many gold, silver and bronze coins have come to light, mostly struck at Ramla and Jerusalem ("Aelia", on the coins), and some from Damascus. Glassware, metal objects and bone implements also were found.

The building-complex was destroyed by a heavy earthquake, traces of which can still be observed. This was the disastrous quake of 747/748 C.E. which hit Jerusalem especially hard; Talmudic literature denotes this catastrophe as the "quake in the sabbatical year".

The area was not renewed in its former plan after the disaster, and the rise of the Abbasids put an end to Omayyad aspirations for Jerusalem. Not only were no renovations or construction carried out here, but the ruins became a huge quarry, a source for building stone for anyone needing such material. In the 11th century it served as a cemetery, indicating that the immense complex which had stood here was entirely forgotten. The history of the site in Abbasid through Ottoman times reflects its wretched state. From time to time, ripples of activity were felt here, but the few structures which rose over the ruins were of a private nature, and the area never recovered its former splendour.

Prag (2000:245) reports that according to Ben-Dov (1976: 101; 1985: 276), on the evidence from the contents of the drains, the palace was destroyed in the great earthquake of A.D. 749.

Effect	Location	Image	Description
Collapsed Walls            Collapsed and Fallen Columns Cracked Walls Warped foundations Sunken floors Partial Repairs Debris	Plan of Omayyad structures adjacent to Temple Mount Yadin et al (1976) Fig. 1 Plan of Building 2 in Jerusalem (after Mazar and Ben-Dov 1971), with the areas excavated in 1962–63 by the Department of Antiquities of Jordan and the Joint Expedition superimposed. Prag (2000) Fig. 9. Reconstruction of Haram and surrounding buildings (after Bahat 1989: 82-83). Whitcomb in Galor and Avni (2011)	Fig. 4. Section E 6, cutting through the street some 5 m east of the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount (lowest height 715 m above sea-level). JW: 5 m west of the SW corner of Temple Mount and not the same as Warren's shaft in the City of David next to the Gihon spring Mazar (1969)	Mazar (1969) concluded that stratum A1 ended with an earthquake which destroyed a large Umayyad Building south of Temple Mount about a generation or two after its construction. The earthquake was said to have collapsed its walls and columns and produced a considerable pile of rubble. They correlated the earthquake with one of the Sabbatical Year Quakes. They further noted that there were partial repairs during the Abbasid period (second half of the 8th century A.D.) and that the paved street and the gateway of the building continued to be used in stratum A2, and the water system was modified drastically. Ben Dov (1985:275-276) examined artifacts from a sewage canal that collected refuse from before the building was destroyed. In the canal, he found pottery (Khirbet Mafjar ware) dating to the first half of the 8th century CE. Ben Dov (1985:321) reports archaeoseismic evidence from the earthquake including cracked walls, warped foundations, fallen columns, and sunken floors. All this evidence would have come from Building 2 immediately S of Haram esh-Sharif - according to Prag (2000:245). The building-complex was destroyed by a heavy earthquake, traces of which can still be observed. This was the disastrous quake of 747/748 C.E. which hit Jerusalem especially hard; Talmudic literature denotes this catastrophe as the "quake in the sabbatical year". The area was not renewed in its former plan after the disaster, and the rise of the Abbasids put an end to Omayyad aspirations for Jerusalem. Not only were no renovations or construction carried out here, but the ruins became a huge quarry, a source for building stone for anyone needing such material. - Ben-Dov in Yadin et al (1976:97-101)

• 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	Description	Intensity
Collapsed Walls            Collapsed and Fallen Columns Cracked Walls (penetrative fractures in masonry blocks) Warped foundations Sunken floors (Anthropic compacted stratum) Partial Repairs Debris	Plan of Omayyad structures adjacent to Temple Mount Yadin et al (1976) Fig. 1 Plan of Building 2 in Jerusalem (after Mazar and Ben-Dov 1971), with the areas excavated in 1962–63 by the Department of Antiquities of Jordan and the Joint Expedition superimposed. Prag (2000) Fig. 9. Reconstruction of Haram and surrounding buildings (after Bahat 1989: 82-83). Whitcomb in Galor and Avni (2011)	Fig. 4. Section E 6, cutting through the street some 5 m east of the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount (lowest height 715 m above sea-level). JW: 5 m west of the SW corner of Temple Mount and not the same as Warren's shaft in the City of David next to the Gihon spring Mazar (1969)	Mazar (1969) concluded that stratum A1 ended with an earthquake which destroyed a large Umayyad Building south of Temple Mount about a generation or two after its construction. The earthquake was said to have collapsed its walls and columns and produced a considerable pile of rubble. They correlated the earthquake with one of the Sabbatical Year Quakes. They further noted that there were partial repairs during the Abbasid period (second half of the 8th century A.D.) and that the paved street and the gateway of the building continued to be used in stratum A2, and the water system was modified drastically. Ben Dov (1985:275-276) examined artifacts from a sewage canal that collected refuse from before the building was destroyed. In the canal, he found pottery (Khirbet Mafjar ware) dating to the first half of the 8th century CE. Ben Dov (1985:321) reports archaeoseismic evidence from the earthquake including cracked walls, warped foundations, fallen columns, and sunken floors. All this evidence would have come from Building 2 immediately S of Haram esh-Sharif - according to Prag (2000:245). The building-complex was destroyed by a heavy earthquake, traces of which can still be observed. This was the disastrous quake of 747/748 C.E. which hit Jerusalem especially hard; Talmudic literature denotes this catastrophe as the "quake in the sabbatical year". The area was not renewed in its former plan after the disaster, and the rise of the Abbasids put an end to Omayyad aspirations for Jerusalem. Not only were no renovations or construction carried out here, but the ruins became a huge quarry, a source for building stone for anyone needing such material. - Ben-Dov in Yadin et al (1976:97-101)	VIII+ V+ and VIII+ VI+ IX+ (not from EAE Chart) VI+-VII+ n/a n/a

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). Warped foundations suggest a higher intensity (IX+) but, without photos or detailed descriptions, I am unsure if this reflects true foundation damage.

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kmz	Description	Reference
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