The site is located east of the Intermediate Bronze Age site of Horbat Be’er Resisim (Fig. 1; Cohen 1999:200–225). It was discovered during a 2020 geoarchaeological survey (License No. S-1001/2020) following the identification of a scatter of fresh Levallois artifacts which seemed to have eroded from an ancient fluvial and colluvial slope. Three trial trenches (L100–L102; 0.5 × 2.0 m each; Fig. 2) were opened in different parts of the slope in search for an in situ buried archaeological layer. In addition, a section along the bank of a wadi running west of the site was cleaned and sampled for OSL dating (L103), and natural flint outcrops embedded in a limestone hill that rises above the site to its south were surveyed and partially documented.
The lowermost trench (L100; depth 0.6 m; Fig. 3) was opened in loess sediment near a large concentration of artifacts, but no artifacts were found below the surface. The trench half-way up the slope (L101; Fig. 4) exposed older sediments, mostly gravels covered by loess. A few artifacts were found within the gravels but not in any concentration or horizontal position. The uppermost trench (L102) was placed at the highest point of the artifact scatter. Under the surface of the colluvium talus, the trench exposed the Taqiya formation that made up the base of the hill and no later sediment.
Natural flint outcrops—of the type from which the knapped items found at the site were made—were identified during an inspection of the hill rising above the site (Fig. 5). Many of the nodules bore evidence for primary testing, suggesting that the knapped material found at the site is in fact the remains of knapping activity.
 
The Lithic assemblage. A total of 72 flint artifacts were collected (Table 1). The assemblage bears evidence of a complex accumulation and exposure history. The items exhibit various states of preservation, ranging from fresh to highly abraded, and a mixture of white and brown patina. Due to the surface collection methodology, the assemblage is dominated by complete Levallois artifacts. The core collection (N=26; Table 2) is dominated by Levallois cores (N=20; Fig. 6:1–3) alongside several other core types. Scar patterns on the Levallois cores and products suggest a high diversity of exploitation strategies. The dominant strategies are centripetal and bi-directional knapping, both recorded on 34% of all items, followed by unidirectional convergent (19%) and parallel (13%) exploitation.
 
Table 1. The Lithic Assemblage
Type
N
%
Flakes
2
3
Blades
1
1
Levallois flakes
15
21
Levallois Blades
5
7
Levallois Points
3
4
Core Trimming Element
1
1
Core Trimming Elements — Debordant
3
4
Naturally Backed Knife
11
16
Total Debitage
41
57
Cores
26
36
Tools
5
7
Total
72
100
 
Table 2. Cores
Type
N
%
Levallois flake Core (Fig. 6:3)
9
35
Levallois point Core (Fig. 6:1)
7
27
Levallois Blade Core
1
4
Nubian Levallois core (Fig. 6:2)
3
11
Exhausted Hierarchical surface core
3
11
Single platform core
1
4
Core on flake
1
4
Preform
1
4
Total
26
100
 
The results of the excavation of the three trenches seem to indicate that the Middle Paleolithic Levallois artifacts at the site were washed down the slope shortly after they were knapped and covered with sediment. They were then re-exposed due to recent erosion. We propose that the flint sources on the hill to the south, which were intensely utilized during the Bronze Age as well, were the main reason for the Middle Paleolithic activity at the site. It is concluded that Nahal Resisim 1 was a knapping site, and part of it was covered and preserved as a scatter on the surface below the flint outcrops but not as an in situ layer.