During December 2009, a salvage excavation was conducted in Nahal Zofim north of Giv‘at Ha-Mivtar in Jerusalem (Permit No. A-5793; map ref. 221301/634602), prior to construction. The excavation, undertaken on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority and underwritten by the Gihon Company, was directed by I. Zilberbod, with the assistance of R. Abu Halaf and Y. Ohayon (administration) and M. Kunin (surveying).
The excavation was conducted in a region, abundant in quarries and rock-hewn burial complexes, dating to the Second Temple period, the most prominent of which is Magharat Umm el ‘Amid cave (A. Kloner, 2002, Survey of Jerusalem: The Northeastern Sector, Site 162), situated northeast of the excavation area. A small section of a quarry (3.0 × 5.5 m; Figs. 1, 2), which is part of an extensive field of quarries that stretches along both banks of the stream, was exposed. Shallow rock-cut severance channels (width c. 0.1 m, to a depth of 0.5 m) were preserved in the quarry, as were stone negatives occurring in a variety of sizes, although most were medium-sized (e.g., 0.5 × 1.0 m, 1.2 × 1.4 m). No datable finds were discovered.