The Building

(4.9 × 5.6 m; Fig. 1) was located on a concealed dome along the spur. It was built of different-sized fieldstones and was preserved to a maximum of four courses high. A beaten-earth floor mixed with small stones was deposited atop bedrock. The building’s northern (W1; width 0.9 m) and western walls (W2; width 0.6–0.8 m) were constructed from two rows of stones, whereas the southern (W3) and eastern (W4) walls were built of a single row of stones (max. width 0.5 m). It is unclear where the entrance to the building was located. Two interior walls (W5, W6) partitioned the building into three rooms, a large room in the west (2 × 4 m) and two smaller rooms in the east (1.05 × 1.46 m, 1.1 × 1.5 m). Several fragments of pottery vessels from Iron Age III were discovered in the building.

 

The Winepresses

. Winepress 1 (Fig. 2) was c. 100 m southwest of the building, on the northern slope of the spur. It consisted of a square treading surface (2.84 × 3.18 m) and a rectangular collecting vat (1.1 × 2.4 m, depth 1.15 m) to its north, which had traces of plaster and a rock-cut step (0.35 × 0.55 m, height 0.4 m) in its northeastern corner. Walls built of large fieldstones (max. length 1.3 m) and preserved a single course high were constructed above the hewn walls of the treading surface. A few pottery fragments from the Byzantine period were recovered from the winepress.

 

Winepress 2 (Fig. 3) was located c. 50 m northwest of the building. It consisted of a square treading surface (2.15 × 2.35 m, depth 0.2 m) and a rectangular collecting vat (0.7 × 1.6 m, depth 0.48 m) to its west. Walls built of medium-sized fieldstones (max. length 0.5 m) that were preserved to a maximum of two courses high (0.7 m) superposed the northern, western and eastern walls of the treading surface. The winepress yielded several pottery fragments from the Byzantine period. A wall (length 3.9 m) was exposed c. 1.2 m north of the winepress; it was built of medium-sized fieldstones, oriented east– west and preserved to a maximum of two courses high (0.65 m). Fragments of pottery vessels dating to the Mamluk period were found near the wall.