During January 2005 remains of a burial kokh, which was damaged by a bulldozer while paving a road in the 1970s, were examined (map ref. NIG 2276/7756; OIG 1776/2756). The inspection, on behalf of the Antiquities Authority, was conducted by
N. Getzov (surveying, drafting, photography and drawing), after M. Ouzan discovered the kokh when shrubbery was being cleared c. 300 m west of Horbat Serah ‘Illit.
The kokh was probably part of a burial cave, most of which was destroyed when the road was paved (Fig. 1). It is circular and its floor was coated with a thick plaster layer, survived by only small sections. The soil fill in the kokh was cleaned down to its floor and several human bones and fragments of Phoenician jars from the Roman period (first or second centuries CE; Fig. 2) were found.
Two tombs had previously been exposed inside the moshav: A. Druks excavated one (HA
1:10) and E. Inbard and D. Davis (HA 53:2–3) excavated the other. Those tombs dated to the third and fourth centuries CE and were probably used by the inhabitants of Horbat Serah ‘Illit. The kokh examined at present appears to be earlier in time.