The excavation was conducted in a large cave under the remains of a church (Ganor and Klein 2011; Klein et al. 2013). It consisted of three rock-hewn cavities (A–C; Fig. 2); Cavity C is bell shaped. The complex was entered from the west, via a rock-hewn passage (Fig. 3), which led to a main cavity (A) at the center of the cave; from there, the two other cavities could be accessed. A raised platform in the middle of Cavity A is probably modern (Fig. 4). 
     
Cavity A (L100; Fig. 5) is the largest in the complex. It was excavated in its southwest part (3 × 5 m), where the primary evidence was of modern activity, as it was most probably used as a shelter for shepherds. Partition walls built of medium-sized fieldstones enclosed small stalls (Fig. 6), and horizontal niches of various sizes were detected in the cave walls (Fig. 7). Two Ottoman-period tobacco pipes were recovered from the cave (B1001; Fig. 8).
 
Cavity B (L101),in the northwest part of the cave,is a relatively small (Fig. 9). It contained no architectural finds but yielded an Ottoman-peirod tobacco pipe.
 
Cavity C (L102). Cavity C is bell-shaped, and its roof contained an opening blocked with a rock, which was probably placed there in modern times. A depression (diam. c. 10 cm, width c. 15 cm; Fig. 10) hewn in the cavity’s south wall—on which the excavation here focused—was probably a severance channel for quarrying chalk stones from the cave. Quarrying marks and evidence of stone detachment could be discerned on the walls of the cavity. The excavation also yielded a burnt layer; two Ottoman-period tobacco pipes were found in it.
 
The cave was found filled with alluvium soil mixed with potsherds from the Byzantine, Early Islamic, Mamluk and Ottoman periods, including tobacco pipes. Bracelets and coins from the Ottoman period were also recovered. The ceramic finds indicate that the cave was used over several different periods, but it is impossible to ascertain its precise function. It was almost certainly first hewn in the Byzantine period, when a church was located above it (and possibly also a nearby monastery). The use of caves as dwellings alongside monasteries was relatively common during this period. Over the years, building stones appear to have been extracted from the cave for use in the settlement of Horbat Burgin farther up the hill.