A site-wide early Iron Age destruction layer, dated to 1075–1025 BCE or possibly slightly later (ca. 1000 BCE), was identified at Tel Dor in Areas G, B1, F, D2, and D5 (Gilboa et al. and Zorn et al. 2018 v. IIA: 66–67). The most compelling evidence came from Phase 9 in Area G, which contained in situ deposits on almost all of its floors. Gilboa et al. (2018 v. IIA: 59–60) described their initial encounter with this layer as a dense mass of burnt debris composed of orange, black, and white mudbrick fragments mixed with carbonized roofing timbers, fallen stones, and fire-hardened mudbricks and ceiling plaster. Heat alteration of the clay indicated fire temperatures above 500 °C, reaching as high as 1000 °C in some areas. In certain rooms, the destruction debris reached a thickness of 90 cm.

The burning was most intense in squares AI/31 and AI/32 at the southern end of the structure, gradually diminishing toward AI/33 and AJ/32 to the north and west. This distribution suggests that combustible materials were concentrated in one section of the building. In the northern and western rooms (e.g., 18570, 18241), vessels in primary deposition indicate destruction without fire. In several cases, pots were broken before the architecture collapsed and before the fire began—demonstrated by reconstructed vessels, such as a krater and a pithos , where burnt fragments mended with unburnt ones, showing exposure to heat only after breakage.

The heaviest burning occurred in the courtyard and in room 18033, immediately to its south. The widespread destruction across the site, the limited area affected by burning, and the evidence that collapse preceded the fire led the excavators to reject accidental causes such as a kitchen fire. Gilboa et al. (2018 v. IIA: 59–60) concluded that the evidence seems to best fit a scenario in which the house was ransacked and then burnt, although alternative explanations (e.g., an earthquake and a subsequent fire) cannot be entirely ruled out.

They further noted that this destruction did not result in abandonment: only a few fragments of human remains were found in the destruction debris, most valuables seem to have been removed, and the building was rebuilt along exactly the same lines almost immediately in overlying Phase 8.

Gilboa et. al. (2018 v. IIA:61-62, Table 20.1) report that charcoal retrieved from heavily burned Room 18033 (Loci 18033 and 18265) produced four ¹⁴C dates which collectively yielded calibrated age ranges of 1090-840 BCE (1σ) and 1130-820 BCE (2σ).