During June 2005, a salvage excavation was conducted south of Khirbat al-Fakhta (Permit No. A-4497*; map ref. NIG 1966–8/5841–2; OIG 1466–8/0841–2). The excavation, undertaken on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority and underwritten by the Ministry of Defense, was directed by E. Aladjem, with the assistance of A. Hajian (surveying).
Twenty-five meters of a single course high agricultural pen (length c. 70 m) were examined. A cistern was discerned c. 50 m southwest of the wall.
The pen was built of fieldstones that were set on soil or on bedrock where it was high (length of excavated section 4 m).
The cistern was bedrock hewn and had two openings. The capstone on the eastern opening was a round monolith section with a hole in its center. A trough was situated nearby. The western opening, identical to the eastern one, was destroyed and no longer used; fragments of its capstone were still located nearby.
The pen and the cistern, which were probably remains of agricultural activity from the settlement of Khirbat al-Fakha, are still being used to date.