During August 2001 a salvage excavation was conducted on Giv‘at ‘Eden in Zikhron Ya‘aqov (Permit No. A-3481*; map ref. NIG 19550/721325; OIG 14550/221325), in the wake of construction work. The excavation, on behalf of the Antiquities Authority and financed by R. Heller, was directed by A. Abu Hamid, with the assistance of V. Pirsky (surveying and drafting), E. Yannai and S. Golan.
The area (60 × 85 m) is located in the southeastern part of Giv‘at ‘Eden, southwest of Route 70. Five complexes, built atop the nari bedrock (Fig. 1) and include stone clearance heaps (1, 2, 3, 4), were examined. The walls (W102, W201, W501, W505) consisted of a single course of medium-sized fieldstones (0.20 × 0.28 × 0.30 m). Some of the walls were covered with stone clearance heaps that comprised stones of various sizes (0.07 × 0.10 × 0.12 m).
The remains uncovered in the excavation indicate that the top of the hill was utilized for cultivation and the walls were apparently farming terraces. No ceramic finds were recovered and the only finds were numerous pieces of flint debitage, difficult to date. Similar stone clearance heaps were discovered in the area of Newe Remez in Zikhron Ya‘aqov (HA-ESI 111:30*) and in the vicinity of Ramat Ha-Nadiv, excavated by R. Greenberg (IEJ 42:129–152).