During January 2008, a salvage excavation was conducted east of Shoham (Permit No. A-5345; map ref. NIG 19512–20/65672–9; OIG 14512–20/15672–9), prior to the construction of a kindergarten. The excavation, undertaken on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority and underwritten by the Shoham Economic Company, was directed by E. Kogan-Zehavi, with the assistance of E. Bachar (administration), A Hajian (surveying and drafting), T. Sagiv (field photography) and C. Hersch (pottery drawing).
A pit (F1; Loci 100, 105; width 1.2 m, depth c. 1.4 m; Figs. 2, 3) was exposed in the southeastern part of the area. Its upper part was natural and the bottom part was bedrock hewn. It seems that the pit was used to store water. A protruding rock, whose top part was hewn straight, was discerned in the northeastern part of the area (F4; Figs. 4, 5). On the upper part of the rock was a north–south oriented, narrow hewn channel (L106). On the southern side of the rock, a natural channel, which was hewn wider in several places (L108), was discerned. A jar rim that dated to the Byzantine period (Fig. 6:1) was discovered in the soil that filled Channel 108. It seems that these rock-cuttings were used to collect rainwater for the purpose of watering animals. A small quarry was exposed in the center of the area (F5; L107; c. 2 × 4 m; Fig. 7). The quarry was damaged in the modern era. A jar rim from the Byzantine–Umayyad periods (Fig. 6:2) was discovered in the soil that overlaid the quarry.
The few remains and finds at the site show that the hill was part of an open area in antiquity, which was used for quarrying and grazing.