During December 2011, a trial excavation was conducted in the Zippor Compound in Modi‘in (Permit No. A-6367; map ref. 200922–87/647236–347) prior to construction. The excavation, undertaken on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority and underwritten by Moshe Avisrur and Sons, Ltd., was directed by J. Marcus, with the assistance of Y. Amrani (administration), A. Peretz (field photography), I. Kornfeld (preliminary inspections) and laborers from Wadi ‘Ara.
The excavation area is located along the northeastern side of the neighborhood, close to Highway 443 and within the precincts of Horbat Tittora. Thirty excavations were conducted in the past decade at the site and large parts of an ancient agricultural region that constituted the agricultural hinterland of the nearby settlement were exposed. Installations characteristic of an ancient farming region were discovered in the excavations, including winepresses, cisterns, terraces, watchman’s huts, roads, kilns and cupmarks. Based on the finds, it is apparent that the main activity in the region took place during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Byzantine periods.
Six points were excavated; three consisted of stone clearance heaps (length 4–6 m, width c. 4 m, max. height 1 m; Fig. 1) that comprised medium and large fieldstones and a probe trench was excavated in their center down to bedrock level. A terrace wall built of dry fieldstone (length c. 10 m, preserved width c. 2 m; Fig. 2) was exposed at the fourth point. A probe was excavated in the center of the wall down to bedrock level. A concentration of roughly hewn medium and large stones, which was probably a clearance heap of building stones, was discovered at the fifth point. No architectural remains were uncovered. A stone concentration, probably natural, was exposed above the natural rock at the sixth point.
Based on the finds, it seems that this is another section along the edge of an agricultural region. The topography explains the need for the construction of terraces to temper the natural slope and to prepare it for growing crops.
Apart from several worn and non-diagnostic potsherds, no datable finds were discovered and therefore the site could not be dated accurately.