During October 2001 a salvage excavation was conducted in the city of El‘ad (Permit No. A-3511*; map ref. NIG 195955/661840; OIG 145955/161840), in an area slated for construction. The excavation, on behalf of the Antiquities Authority, was directed by A. Nagorsky (photography and surveying).
To document architectural remains visible on surface and in a probe trench, two squares (5 × 6 m; Fig. 1) were excavated.
Square A
A terrace wall (W11; 1.0–1.1 m wide), oriented north–south, was exposed along the western border of the square, extending beyond its limits. The wall, founded on bedrock and preserved two courses high, was built of large, medium and small fieldstones. The large masonry stones (0.4 × 0.5 × 0.7 m) were probably in secondary use.
The soil fill east of the wall contained a large amount of stone collapse and a few potsherds that dated to the sixth–seventh centuries CE. The terra rosa fill to the west of the wall was devoid of finds.
Square B
The continuation of W11 was exposed along the western border of the square. A section of another wall (W13; width 0.7 m, preserved length 3.7 m) was discovered in the square’s southeastern corner. The wall, founded on bedrock, was preserved two courses high. It was built of two rows of fieldstones, fitted with smaller stones for reinforcement and adjustment of courses. The soil fill contained a few potsherds dating to the Late Roman and Byzantine periods.