The cave (Fig. 1) was accessed via a narrow opening (0.7 × 1.5 m) and a shaft that inclined in a slant. A hewn step (height 0.5 m) in the entrance led to a bell-shaped chamber (L101), which contained a layer of large stones and terra rosa soil with several human bones, mainly long ones. In the wake of this discovery the excavation was suspended; no details about the contents could be obtained, i.e., age and gender of the interments and size and context of the finds.

 

The watchman’s booth was circular (diam. c. 2 m; Fig. 2). Its northern side was preserved two courses high and its southern side collapsed. The watchman’s booth was built of very large fieldstones and contained a fill of medium-sized fieldstones and alluvium, which was devoid of datable finds. Remains from the Hasmonean and Early Islamic periods had previously been discovered on this hill (ESI 20:68*–69*).