During May 2005, a salvage excavation was conducted in a cairn located within the precincts of a quarry along the slopes of Har Shahar (Permit No. A-4447; map ref. NIG 18235–55/54830–50; OIG 13235–55/04830–50). The excavation, undertaken on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority and underwritten by A. Ben-Ari, Ltd., was directed by M. Haiman, with the assistance of A. Hajian (surveying).
The site, situated on the high part of the slope (Fig. 1), included a cairn (T100, diam. c. 3 m, height 0.6 m; Figs. 2–4) and remains of a paved surface, c. 10 m to the west. The cairn was built of different size stones and in its center were the remains of an elliptical burial cell (1.0 × 1.5 m; Fig. 5), which was devoid of finds. Nabataean potsherds dating to the Roman period were found among the stones of the cairn. The small-stone paved surface (L101; 2 × 3 m) was devoid of finds.
The site is not typical to the groups of sites common to the Negev hill country and it is not characteristic of a particular period. The cairn was haphazardly built and the potsherds do not actually aid in dating it or the paved surface.