During July 2012, a salvage excavation was conducted at Horbat Hammim (Permit No. A-6560; map ref. 197007–54/64414–22), following the discovery of a shaft during an antiquities inspection prior to construction. The excavation, undertaken on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority and underwritten by the Netivey Hakama Company, was directed by M. Haiman (field photography), with the assistance of Y. Amrani (administration).
A circular shaft (L100; diam. c. 0.6 m, depth 1.4 m; Fig. 1) with vertical sides was hewn in white calcareous bedrock and contained brown soil and remains of modern vegetation. White calcareous soil was exposed at the bottom of the shaft. The quarrying of the shaft might have been suspended in the past or the shaft could have been used for another purpose, e.g., a planter for trees. No archaeological finds were discovered in the excavation. The manner of quarrying indicates it was man-made and it resembles shafts dug in the region that were dated to Early Bronze Age 1A.