A geomorphological and sedimentological study was conducted in the area, particularly in the section of F100 (Fig. 2). Sediment and soil stratigraphy were characterized in the section according to structure, texture, and color. Fine grains in the range of 2–2000 µm were analyzed by the hydrometer method and larger grains in the range of 2000–4000 µm were analyzed by the dry sieving method. The field survey revealed three main layers in the section of F100 (Table 1) and the grain fractions of the soil/sediment in each layer are presented in Table 2. All the layers are composed of primarily sandy sediments, which were apparently trapped in the holes. Most of the sand grains are medium sized. This may indicate that the sand was transported a short distance from the coast by the wind.
 
Table 1. F100 sediments 
Layer
Depth
(cm)
Color (wet;
Munsell readings)
Texture
Structure
Notes
1
0–80
5YR 6/4–6/6 light reddish brown to reddish yellow
Sandy loam
Loose and massive
Seems to be trapped sediment
2
80–100
5YR 6/4
Light reddish brown
Sandy clay loam
Loose and massive
Seems to be trapped sediment
3
100+
7.5YR 5/4
Brown
Loamy sand
Loose and massive
Darker layer
 
Table 2. Sand fraction-size distribution 
Layer
Size(mm)
 Depth (cm)
<0.177
0.177–
0.84
0.84–1.2  
1.2–1.7
1.7–2.0
2.0–2.4
2.4>
sum
1
0–10
26.60
47.40
5.90
6.70
3.10
1.60
8.70
100
2
90–100
26.60
49.60
5.30
5.40
2.20
1.40
9.50
100
3
100+
29.00
58.70
0.80
0.90
0.60
0.50
9.50
100
 
 
The following reconstruction is suggested for the geomorphological process on the site, with regard to the formation of the holes and the sediments accumulated in them: (1) Holes created; (2) Sediments trapped in the holes; (3) Sand and Hamra covering; and (4) Subsurface carbonate crust evolution.
The holes may have originated in an artificial process, such as quarrying or, more likely, given the irregular shapes and small size of most holes, a natural process, such as dissolving depressions that are found on top of the kurkar ridges along the coastal plain (Almagor 2005: Fig. 4.22). Sediments had accumulated in these holes possibly by aeolian process, as revealed from the granular composition of the sand. The area was covered by the hamra soil of the Netanya Formation, which is dated to 57ky–4ky BP and by upper sand, known as the Ta‘arucha Formation, dating to 2ky–200 years BP (Porat N., Wintle A.G. and Ritte M. 2004. Israel Journal of Earth Sciences 53:13–25). Calcium dissolving and second sedimentation allowed the calcite crust to be created on the contact line of the bottom of the sand dune and the top of the kurkar ridge.
 
The excavation of all 133 features hardly yielded any anthropogenic materials and less than 30 potsherds were found, deriving from ten holes. A selection of the holes was drawn and/or photographed (Figs. 3, 5–7). Except for four features (F9, F25, F64 and F92, see below), all others appeared to be natural crevices, bedrock pockets or holes of varying sizes and depths, formed by dissolving kurkar
 
F9 – A Collection Vat of a Winepress
The rectangular collection vat (1.9 × 2.0 m) was cut into the kurkar bedrock; it was preserved to a maximum of 0.85 m high (Figs. 3, 4). A single step (0.45 × 0.45 m) was in the northwestern corner of the collection vat and in its southeastern corner was a sedimentation vat (0.65 × 0.65 m, depth 0.45 m) that had two straight sides and a curved side that joined between them. The four walls of the collection vat, its floor and the step, as well as the sedimentation vat were coated with two layers of plaster. The bottom layer (thickness 3–5 cm) was gray plaster that contained ashes, organic materials and some shells. The second and upper layer (thickness 1–2 cm) consisted of white hydraulic plaster. Fragments of two ribbed, handled jars were found resting on the floor in the southwestern corner of the collection vat. The jars, dating to the fourth century CE (E. Ayalon, pers. comm.), point to a Late Roman date for this installation. This dating is further corroborated by the fact that the floor was plastered and not covered with a white mosaic as is common in the succeeding, Byzantine period. Collection vats of a similar shape and dating were excavated in 1982 at the nearby Tel Qasile (Ayalon E. 1984. Two Wine Presses from the Roman Period at the Haaretz Museum Centre. Tel Aviv 11:173–182). The collection vat is the only element of the winepress that had survived; it is likely that the treading floor and possibly a smaller, intermediate vat were destroyed and removed in the past.
 
F25, F64 and F92 – Stone Quarries
Quarries F64 and F92 (Figs. 8, 9) are located at the highest point of the kurkar hill at its northwestern extreme and Quarry F25 (Figs. 2, 10) is situated midway on the slope, at the extreme west side of the excavation area. The shallow F64 and F92 quarries (c. 3 × 8 m) were exhausted in antiquity and the only evidence of former quarrying activities are faint and straight negative lines, still visible at the bottom of the quarries. The shallow Quarry F25 is much smaller (c. 1.2 × 2.0 m, depth 0.65 m) and had not been fully exhausted. It had apparently been abandoned in the middle of quarrying. This observation is based on the presence of two kurkar blocks, cut free from all but one side, at the northern side of the quarry. The dating of all three quarries is problematic since no pottery or other datable materials were found in them. The nearby presence of the plastered collection vat from the Late Roman period, on the same kurkar ridge and 140 m further southeast, could perhaps provide an indication of the possible antiquity of the stone quarries.
 
The main feature in the eastern side of the excavation is the collection vat, which was dated to the fourth century CE. The western part of the kurkar ridge was devoid of any archaeological features, except for three shallow kurkar stone quarries whose date is uncertain. Both the east and west sides of the ridge are saturated with hollows/cavities of varying sizes and depths that appear to have been formed by natural processes.