During March 2005 a salvage excavation was conducted in the Newe Remez neighborhood of Zikhron Ya‘aqov (Permit No. A-4392*; map ref. NIG 1958–9/2187–8; OIG 1458–9/7187–8). The excavation, on behalf of the Antiquities Authority and funded by Z. Ariav, was directed by A. Massarwa, assisted by A. Hajian (surveying and drafting) and T. Sagiv (field photography).
The site is located west of Khirbat Jabir and north of Ramat Ha-Nadiv, which overlooks the antiquities sites of Binyamina, Shuni, Tel Rozez and Horbat Zaf. Archaeological excavations undertaken at the site in the past (ESI 18, 19; HA-ESI 109–111) exposed stone quarries, cairns (regamim) and limekilns, dating to the Roman and Byzantine periods.
One square (6.5 × 6.7 m) was opened in terra rosa soil. Several fragments of pottery vessels from the Roman and Byzantine periods were found in the upper layer. A quarry (3.0 × 4.4 m) in the middle of the area that was dated to the Byzantine period based on the ceramic finds was discovered. The four layers of cut stones reached the bottom of the quarry (1.41 m deep) and it seems the stonecutters had hewn the rock down to the soft-stone layer that was no longer suitable for quarrying masonry stones.
The remains of severance channels, clearly visible at the bottom and sides of the quarry, as well as the negatives of stones in bedrock and stones that had not been detached, indicate the average size of the hewn stones (0.3 × 0.4 × 0.7 m). It is assumed that the stones were used for construction in nearby settlements, since in coastal sites, such as Shuni and Caesarea, only kurkar masonry stones were utilized. The very meager ceramic finds included fragments from the Roman and Byzantine periods.