A trial square (1.8 × 2.0 m) was opened alongside the ancient wall, opposite the church’s main apse. First, soil mixed with modern refuse (depth 0.2 m) was removed, revealing a modern concrete floor. After removing the floor, soil fill (depth c. 0.3 m) was excavated in order to reveal the ancient wall’s foundation trench. While the excavation was being carried out, modern plaster was removed from the ancient wall, revealing the original Crusader construction (Fig. 3). The wall’s stones were square and roughly hewn (0.5 × 0.6–0.7 m). Eleven coins were discovered in the fill that abutted the wall; five of them could be identified (Table 1).
 
Table 1. Coins
Locus/Basket
IAA No.
Dates (CE)
Ruler
Mint
601/6002
139679
1198–1218
Ayyubid: Al-Adil Sayf al-Din Abu-Bakr
Damascus
601/6007
139680
1500–1599
Ottoman
Syrian(?)
601/6008
139681
1500–1599
Ottoman
Syrian(?)
601/6009
139682
1500–1599
Ottoman
Syrian(?)
601/6012
139683
383
Late Roman
 
 
Due to time constraints, the excavation was unable to reach the wall’s foundation. It was therefore impossible to glean any new information regarding the date of the church’s construction.