During June 2002 a trial excavation was conducted in a dolmen that was damaged during earthmoving work at ‘En ‘Adaya (South), in the eastern part of the Zangariya village, on the northern side of Ramat Korazim (Permit No. A-3649*; map ref. NIG 25480/76255; OIG 20480/26255). The excavation, on behalf of the Antiquities Authority and funded by the Ministry of Housing and Construction, was directed by N. Getzov. Surveying, drafting and photography were performed by the author. Many thanks are extended to Y. Stepansky who provided much information about the site.
The site was discovered in a survey of the Korazim Map (Israel Survey No. 20-26/42/1 [B]), conducted by Y. Stepansky. The survey revealed animal pens enclosed within low stone fences and a dolmen that stood next to the northern one of them. An open cell bordered by three large stones was documented in the survey. Two long stones that originally may have covered the cell were lying nearby. One of the enclosing stones of the cell was moved during the earthmoving work, as well as the two roofing stones.
A section of a large stone circle that was filled with different-sized stones surrounded the dolmen cell (inner dimensions 1.4 ´ 2.1 m, height of stones around it 1.5–1.8 m). The circle was probably the remains of a tumulus that covered the dolmen; part of it was dismantled in the past and another part was damaged by the bulldozer. Remains of a closing wall, survived by a single large stone and several small stones, were part of the dolmen’s entrance that faced southeast.
The excavation inside the cell and in the place where one of the enclosing stones was positioned ascertained that the dolmen had no floor and was built on top of virgin soil and above a stone wall (W1) that predated its construction. Wall 1 was carelessly built of different-sized stones. The large stones were placed on their sides and their height marked the maximum preservation of the wall (0.6 m). It was impossible to determine unequivocally if W1 belonged to one of the animal pens surveyed at the site, due to the bulldozer’s damage.
The excavation revealed pottery fragments from the Roman and Ottoman periods that should be considered as field sherds, having no relation to the dolmen. Finds that could establish the date and function of the dolmens in Ramat Korazim were not recovered from the excavation. Yet, in the wake of excavations elsewhere, it is currently accepted to identify them as burial structures used in the Intermediate and Middle Bronze Ages (e.g., ESI 10:73–75). Investigating the relation between the dolmen and W1 had shown that many of the walls on the hill were constructed as early as the Bronze Age, or perhaps earlier.