During September 2006, a trial excavation was conducted in the village of Nahf (Permit No. A-4889; map ref. NIG 229892/760051; OIG 179892/260051), prior to the construction of a private residence. The excavation, undertaken on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority and underwritten by the lot owner, S. Sa‘id, was directed by Y. Lerer, with the assistance of Y. Ya‘aqobi (administration), R. Abu Raya (surveying and drafting), H. Smithline (studio photography), E.J. Stern (pottery reading), H. Tahan (pottery drawing) and members of the Sa‘id family.
Although settlement at this site mostly flourished during the Hellenistic and Byzantine periods, no finds from these periods were discovered in the excavation. It therefore seems that this part of the site was uninhabited prior to the Mamluk period.