QS-5 is an OSL-dated rockfall boulder from the slopes west of Qiryat Shemona, below the Ramim escarpment. The rockfall source was the 40 m high subvertical cliff of the Ein El Assad Formation, located about 350 m above the town.

Kanari et al. (2019) dated the rockfall events by sampling soil or colluvium from directly beneath large rock blocks. This sampling method constrains the time when the sediment was last exposed to sunlight before burial by the fallen block. QS-5 produced an age of 4.0 ± 0.7 ka which works out to 2700-1300 BCE.

Kanari et al. (2019) suggested that QS-12, QS-9, and QS-5 may have been emplaced during the same rockfall event. The combined OSL ages of all three boulders constrain this potential event to between 2900 and 1300 BCE (4.9–3.3 ka).

Figure 10 - Summary of OSL ages (black circles with error bars) plotted in chronological order and selected historical earthquakes suggested as rockfall triggers (shown as vertical gray lines, chronologically labeled at the top axis); see text for details. - click on image to open in a new tab - Kanari et al (2019)