During September 2005 a salvage excavation was conducted in the Saviyonei Ramat Aviv Project (Permit No. A-4606*; map ref. NIG 180446/616765; OIG 130446/116765), following the discovery of an underground plastered installation during development works. The excavation, on behalf of the Antiquities Authority and financed by the Africa-Israel Company, was directed by D. Barkan, with the assistance of S. Ya‘aqov-Jam (administration), T. Kornfeld (surveying and drafting), A. Dagot (GPS surveying), J. Neguer (mosaics) and M. Ajami and E. Yannai.
The site is located on the western
kurkar ridge of the coastal plain, north of the Yarqon River, c. 500 m west of Tell Qasile and c. 1 km east of Tell Kudadi.
Previous archaeological excavations were conducted in the area on behalf of the Antiquities Authority (
HA-ESI 111:35*–37*;
‘Atiqot 38:25*–32* [Hebrew];
HA-ESI 119) and Bar-Ilan University (License Nos. B-210/2000, B-257/2002).
Part of an underground industrial installation (min. width 3.65 m; preserved height 3.65 m; Fig. 1), which was hewn in kurkar bedrock and used for storing liquid, was excavated. The walls, cast of coarse material and small stones, were coated with several layers of hydraulic plaster. The floor was a white industrial mosaic composed of medium-sized tesserae. The complete plan of the installation was not ascertained due to the vast damage caused to it.
The installation was filled with black soil that contained potsherds from the Byzantine period (fifth–seventh centuries CE) together with modern debris (glass and ceramic tiles) and animal bones. The installation should be dated to the Byzantine period based on the manner of its construction, the plaster, the mosaic and the potsherds in the fill.