During October 2012, a salvage excavation was conducted at Khirbat ‘Addasa in the Beit Hanina neighborhood of Jerusalem (Permit No. A-6622; map ref. 220550/638904), following the discovery of antiquities during an inspection prior to construction. The excavation, undertaken on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority and underwritten by Mr. M. Wahadan, was directed by B. Monnickendam-Giv‘on, with the assistance of N. Nehama and R. Abu Halaf (administration), D. Yeger (preliminary inspections), D. Ben-Ami (guidance) and N. Sapir and A. Re’em (IAA Jerusalem district).
The excavation was conducted on the southern slope of Khirbat ‘Addasa, next to previous excavations that had been carried out at the site (
‘Atiqot 63:1*–16*;
HA-ESI 121,
HA-ESI 124; Permit No. A-6612) and in front of the opening of a large cave that was checked by mechanical equipment and found to be devoid of ancient artifacts.
A single excavation square was opened next to stones discovered in a trial trench; it turns out that the stones were not in any architectural or archaeological context.
The stones (W40; 0.45×1.00 m, height 0.8 m; Fig. 1) were founded on a stack of small stones (0.1×0.2 m) mixed with reddish brown soil overlying the bedrock. Modern debris was found down to the bedrock throughout the square (depth c. 0.9 m). A small, carelessly built field wall (W47; length 1.5 m, width 0.4 m, height 0.6 m) of roughly hewn stones was exposed in the western part of the square, just south of the bedrock. Modern refuse was found between the stones in the wall and in the fill beneath it. A bedrock surface (L44) was cleaned next to the excavation square, but no signs of quarrying or installations were discerned.