During July–August 2003 a salvage excavation was conducted on the southern slope of Tell el-Ful (Giv‘at Sha’ul, Permit No. A-3964*; map ref. NIG 22202–5/63654–6; OIG 17202–5/13654–6) in the wake of damage caused to antiquities during the building of a school. The excavation, on behalf of the Antiquities Authority and funded by the Jerusalem Municipality, was directed by R. Avner, assisted by V. Pirsky (surveying and drafting), L. Barda (GPS) and A. Pikovski (pottery drawing).
A rectangular excavation area (5 × 16 m) was opened. A wall (terrace? 14 m long, 0.5 m wide; Fig. 1) built of soft qirton stones without bonding material and preserved a single course high (0.4 m) was discovered. Fragments of jars from Middle Bronze Age IIB (Fig. 2:1–5), as well as from the Iron Age, including a bowl (Fig. 2:8), a krater (Fig. 2:9) and cooking pots (Fig. 2:10, 11), were found. After dismantling the wall, more fragments of bowls from the Iron Age (Fig. 2:6, 7) were discovered in the fill beneath it, enabling to date the wall to this period.