The excavated area (2.0 × 2.3 m) in the southern room of the museum was set at a distance of 0.5 m from the eastern and western wall, 1.2 m from the southern wall and 1.3 m from the northern wall, where the entrance is located. The excavation area was divided into two squares: northern and southern (Fig. 4). Several layers of soil fill (each 0.1 m thick; Fig. 5) were removed down to a depth of 1.1 m below the room’s floor; all the soil was sieved. Remains of stone structures were discovered in the northwestern part of the northern square at a depth of 0.64 m and in the southeastern part of the southern square at a depth of 0.74 m.
A probe (0.65 × 2.80 m, depth 1.6 m) dug in the northern part of the northern square exposed natural, virgin soil at a depth of c. 1.4 m. An engineering analysis indicated that it was safe to excavate the area further, except for two strips, along the western and southern walls (width 0.5 and 0.75 m, respectively). Nevertheless, the probe was refilled until it was only 1.1 m deep, and the site was prepared for visitors as part of the museum.
 
The soil fills were all of a similar texture: brown and gray in color, soft, sandy and full of stones (diam. 6–20 cm). Nearly all fills were contaminated with modern material (e.g. rubber, leather, and modern glass). The sieving yielded numerous small animal bones, along with a mixed assemblage of pottery sherds and tesserae dating from the Iron Age IIC, the Herodian period (first century BCE; Fig. 6)—comprising the balk of finds—the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods, the Middle/Late Islamic period (Fig. 7) and up to modern times (Kribus 2014). Fragments of limestone vessels typical of the late first century BCE – first century CE were also found (Fig. 8). Metal finds were rare and mostly modern; they included a bronze buckle (Fig. 9) and three bronze coins. A section of medieval opus scutulatum with engraved marble that was unearthed in the 1970s was cleaned and conserved (Fig. 10).
 
Despite the constant use of the site in the late antiquity and the medieval times, most finds date to earlier periods. This fact along with the mixed small finds, the nearly homogeneous texture of the soil and the contamination with modern material throughout the layers, all lead to the conclusion that all the strata are modern fill. This is indicative of the constant use and construction work that occurred in this area over the centuries. It was also verified through the profile of the deep cut.