An archaeological stratum was exposed 1.7 m below the surface, at an elevation of 258.28 m asl. The indigenous soil in the area consists of light-colored loess, devoid of stones. The archaeological stratum is anthropogenic and may be distinguished from the natural soil by its grayish color, the result of natural loess mixed with ash and organic remains, and its components—manmade artifacts and the products of human activity, such as pottery, flint artifacts, animal bones, bits of copper, stone objects, ash concentrations, small pieces of charcoal and stones that were brought to the site from the wadi.
The anthropogenic stratum extended throughout the excavation and continued in all directions that were examined beyond the limits of the excavation. The bottom of the layer was exposed in a probe (1.0 × 1.5 m) at an elevation of c. 247.15 m asl, revealing that the stratum was at least 1 m thick (Fig. 3), a clear indication of the intensity of the settlement. The finds show that settlement refuse was discarded within the excavation area. The widespread accumulation attests to a large settlement that existed for a long time.
All the material finds are ascribed to the Chalcolithic Ghassulian culture, including characteristic V-shaped bowls with a red stripe on the rim that constitute a fossil directeur of that culture.
Forty-eight diagnostic items were identified in the ceramic assemblage, the remainder were body fragments (Table 1). About half of the indicative potsherds were decorated with red paint, most of them with a red stripe along the rim of the vessel. The repertoire of vessels included small V-shaped bowls adorned with a red painted stripe on their rim (Fig. 4:1–3), various sized bowls with rounded (Fig. 4:4, 5, 7) or straight rims (Fig. 4:6, 8), a krater with a thumb-indented rim (Fig. 4:9), undecorated holemouth jars (Fig. 4:10) and holemouths with red painted decoration (Fig. 4:11), short-necked jars (Fig. 4:12) and a broken weight (not drawn).
The bases of the vessels are flat (Fig. 4:13, 15, 16) or concave (Fig. 4:14), with an average thickness of 7.6 mm (min. thickness 4.5 mm, max. thickness 13 mm). The average wall thickness of the bases is identical in both bowls and jars (Table 1) and therefore the minimum number of vessels is smaller than the number of indicative items (there are more rim fragments). The sherds are all made of dark-yellowish orange clay except for two body fragments made of white raw material. The clay used to produce most of the vessels contained coarse, light and dark gravel temper, apart from the bowls that are made of well-levigated clay. The characteristics of the kind of raw material, including the anomalies, are in keeping with the Ghassulian-Be’er-Shevaʽ culture.
  
Table 1. Indicative Pottery Sherds
Type
No.
%
Average wall thickness (mm)
Vessel no. in Fig. 4
V-shaped bowl
21
44
5
1–3
Bowl
10
21
9
4–9
Holemouth
2
4
11.5
10, 11
Jar
2
4
9
12
Weight
1
2
8.7
 
Base
12
25
9
13–16
Total
48
100
8.7
 
 
The flint assemblage comprises 282 items (Table 2), mainly industrial flake debitage from the manufacture of tools made of indigenous flint available from the nearby wadis.  The flint items are fresh and many of them have burn marks. Most of the items are flakes (Fig. 5:2, 3, 6), several are blades (Fig. 5:1, 4) and one is a mixed flake/blade core (Fig. 5:5; max. length 4.5 cm) on which there are the remains of the cortex. No flint tools were found. Most of the flint items have unworn sharp edges, indicating that after they were discarded in the refuse heap they were not exposed to abrasion processes.
 
Table 2. Flint items
Type
No.
%
Chunks
42
15
Chips
134
47
Core trimming elements
17
6
Flakes
81
29
Blades
6
2
Core debitage
1
0.5
Total debitage
281
99.5
Core
1
0.5
Total
282
100
 
Other finds discovered in the excavation included a small repertoire of limestone flakes (length 2–7 cm; Fig. 6:1, 2), a broken stone pounder (Fig. 6:3), two small chunks of copper (0.5 cm, diam. 2 cm; not drawn) and several animal bones belonging to medium-sized mammals, possibly sheep/goats. Many of the pottery sherds and flint items are scorched, which together with the ash stains and the numerous bits of charcoal suggest that the settlement debris that accumulated in the excavated area was mixed with waste that had been removed from cooking ovens.
The finds, particularly the characteristic pottery, flint and copper artifacts that were discovered in the excavation, make it possible to ascribe the settlement to the Chalcolithic Ghassulian-Be’er Shevaʽ culture.
 
The small-scale excavation provided extensive information concerning the site’s past. The thick anthropogenic stratum discovered, replete with finds, attests to the existence nearby of a large settlement.
The ambiguity regarding the precise location of the Horbat Betar site and the two excavations conducted there, made impossible a determination as to whether the excavated area belonged to the Horbat Betar site or was part of another nearby site.