Most of the excavation was conducted on the eastern slope of the tell, in an agricultural area that slopes gently to the south and east. Seventeen squares were opened in a row, running from north to south; at a later stage more excavation areas were added to the east. Mechanical equipment was used to dig east–west probe trenches in the low part of the area, revealing a high water table that in all likelihood precluded any kind of settlement in this area, which was prone to annual flooding.

 

Bedrock overlaid with numerous potsherds that were probably swept there from the tell, located to the west, was exposed below surface (depth 0.3–0.5 m). Most of the sixty other excavations squares were only partially dug and bedrock was found beneath a thin layer of terra rosa soil. Ancient pits cut into bedrock, which contained potsherds from the Early and Middle Bronze Ages, were discovered in several places.

 

A limited area (4 × 8 m) was excavated in the strip of squares along the edge of the tell, revealing building remains and many potsherds from the Pottery Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Middle Bronze Age II, as well as a few fragments from Iron Age II.