The upper sand dune was removed by mechanical equipment and probes were excavated where ancient remains were visible in the brown hamra. Meager remains of stone walls, habitation levels and pits from Middle Bronze IIA, a winepress from Iron II and a long channel whose date is unclear, were discovered.

Remains of two walls, c. 0.7 m apart and aligned east–west, were exposed in the eastern part of the site (W1, W2; Fig. 1). The walls, which differed in construction and in the stones that composed them, did not apparently belong to the same structure. Wall 1 (length 1.8 m, width 0.5 m, height 0.25–0.30 m), preserved a single course high, was built of medium-sized kurkar stones (0.20 × 0.25 m), some of which underwent preliminary dressing. The relatively fine quality of the wall’s construction was evident despite its poor state of preservation. Wall 2 (length 6.3 m, width 0.7 m, height 0.20–0.25 m) was built of small kurkar stones (0.10 × 0.15 m), which were placed close together with mud as bonding material and survived to three courses high. The northern side of the eastern part of W2 was made thicker (length 2.7 m, width 0.4 m) in a later phase. At its western end, it formed a corner with a wall that faced south (W3), but did not survive beyond this point. At its eastern end, W2 was connected to a robber trench of another wall that also faced south. It seems that these walls were part of a building whose plan is unclear.

The beddings of two floors (L16, L21 and L37) were exposed north and south of the walls. They consisted of tamped earth together with small fragments of kurkar and mud bricks and related to the building. Several adjacent stones that may be the remains of construction were exposed atop a section of the northern floor (L37). Remains of a tabun (L42), fragments of another tabun and a concentration of ash that related to them were identified north of W2’s eastern end. Basalt grinding stones and c. 20 flint tools were found in the floor beddings (Loci 16, 21).

Remains of another habitation level that included an accumulation of soil mixed with ash, overlying the natural hamra (max. thickness c. 0.2 m), were identified c. 8 m west of the walls. It contained many fragments of pottery vessels, basalt grinding stones, as well as animal bones, mostly sheep and goat and the rest—cattle bones.

The remains of five round pits (diam. 0.5–1.2 m) were exposed c. 15–20 m west of the building. Four of the pits were only preserved to a depth of several centimeters due to severe erosion. At least two phases of use that were separated by a layer of tamped stones were identified in one pit. A few fragments of pottery vessels and animal bones, probably sheep and goat, were found in the fill inside the pits.

 

Domestic pottery vessels were discovered, including kraters (Fig. 2:1) and cooking pots (Fig. 2:2–5) that are typical of MB IIA, cooking pots that are common throughout the MB II (Fig. 2:6) and jars of MB IIA (Fig. 2:7–13).

The flint tools include 17 coarsely knapped blades, including several sickle blades. A single core, three pounders and numerous flakes were also discovered. The flint artifacts cannot be dated with certainty, but it seems that they are not earlier than the MB II (S.A. Rosen, 1997. Lithics after the Stone Age, London). The presence of the pounders, the many flakes and at least nine partially finished blades or blades that were not used, as well as the small quantity of tools, suggests that a limited amount of flint knapping activity had occurred at the site.

The numerous cooking pots, grinding stones and flint artifacts attest to activity common to a rural settlement. The poor state of preservation makes it difficult to estimate its size, although it was probably limited to a few houses.

With the exception of one location, which was not excavated, where fragments of human bones were identified (c. 0.1 m below top of hamra layer), no tombs were discovered. A large burial compound from MB IIA-B (ESI 13:57–59) was discovered adjacent to the site.

 

A winepress was discovered c. 30 m west of the building remains. It included three adjacent vats in a row, aligned north–south (Loci 12, 9, 15; Fig. 3). The two extreme vats were of similar size (L12, L15; 0.8 × 0.8 m, depth 0.7 m), while the middle vat was slightly smaller (L9; 0.5 × 0.8 m, depth 0.7 m; Fig. 4). The sides and floors of the vats were coated with a layer of white plaster, composed of lime and tiny shells mixture (thickness 2 cm). A settling depression (diam. 0.3 m, depth 0.3 m) was in the eastern side of each vat. As no traces of an external treading floor were evident.

The fill in the vats yielded fragments of pottery vessels that dated to Iron II, including a bowl (Fig. 5:1), a filter jug (Fig. 5:2) and a jar (Fig. 5:3). The fill in Vat 12 contained a handle, with the eroded remains of a round stamped impression in its center (diam. 1.6 cm; Fig. 5:4). Potsherds from this period were only found in the area of the winepress.

An Iron Age settlement, identified as an Assyrian fortress, was located nearby (NEAEHL 5, pp. 2020–2022), yet it is impossible to determine if the currently exposed winepresses was used by the inhabitants of this site. Similar winepresses were excavated in an adjacent site (ESI 20:96*–97*), at Tel Michal (ESI 1:73–74), Lod (HA-ESI 112:65*), as well as at Tel Gezer and Tell Qasile (E. Ayalon, 1994, Wine Presses from the Iron Age around Tell Qasile. Israel – People and Country 7-8:53–66). The winepress was relocated to the archaeological study center at the southern entrance to Rishon Le-Ziyyon.

 

A north–south oriented channel (length 3 m, width 1.5–1.7 m, max. depth 1 m), cut into the layer of natural hamra soil, was discovered in the western part of the site. The sides of the channel tapered down to the point of creating a V-shaped cross-section. The channel continued below the sand dune in the north and terminated in a large depression that may have been a drainage pit or storage reservoir in the south, which was not excavated. Compacted gray fill that was devoid of finds had accumulated in the channel. The probe trenches excavated at different points along the course of the channel indicated that it was not uniform in width or depth, possibly because of its state of preservation or due to later activity.