Archaeoseismic evidence for a major mid–fourth- century earthquake at Khirbet Wadi Ḥamam is documented across multiple excavation areas, most prominently in the synagogue and surrounding domestic complexes. In Synagogue II, “limited restoration works… at the end of the fourth century were labeled Sub-Phase IIb,” including “the addition of three stratigraphically related features: (1) a stone bema; (2) a low bench added against the southern wall; (3) a plaster floor, which replaced damaged portions of the mosaic.” Although “the cause and date of the damage that necessitated this renovation could not be precisely determined,” it is stated that it “clearly occurred in the late fourth century,” and that “the most plausible event is the earthquake of 363 CE,” which was “apparently responsible for the destruction of some of the surrounding domestic structures and devastated many sites in the region” ( Leibner et al., 2018:96). The nature of these repairs is itself archaeoseismically significant: the bema and bench were “constructed of reused architectural elements” and were “poorly and sloppily executed,” while the replacement of mosaic floors with plaster shows that “the community lacked the means to repair or replace the mosaic,” even though “the surviving mosaic segments were preserved and not plastered over,” an exceptional case of intentional preservation following heavy damage.

Beyond the synagogue, widespread collapse and abandonment provide further corroboration. In the northeastern domestic complex of Area B (Units B1–B4), the latest finds indicate abandonment “around the mid-fourth century CE,” with a coin dated to “351–361 CE… hinting of a connection with the earthquake of 363 CE,” though the absence of restorable vessels suggests that “the structure was deserted in an organized manner, and not as a result of a sudden catastrophe” ( Leibner et al., 2018:204–205). In contrast, Area C preserves clearer evidence of sudden destruction: Unit C1 was buried beneath “a huge collapse,” which “hints of destruction caused by an earthquake, most likely that of 363 CE” ( Leibner et al., 2018:239–240), while the upper complex was “abruptly abandoned” and sealed beneath collapse dated by ceramic assemblages and coins of Constantius II (r. 337–361 CE). The excavators conclude that “the sudden cessation and the huge collapse under which it was buried suggests the 363 CE earthquake as the cause of this desertion” ( Leibner et al., 2018:244–246). Together, these data indicate that by the time of the earthquake the village was already in decline, and that immediately afterward Khirbet Wadi Ḥamam consisted of a damaged synagogue undergoing impoverished repairs, flanked by collapsed and abandoned domestic structures that never fully recovered.