Five squares were opened in the current excavation and two main strata were exposed; Stratum I dating to the Roman period and Stratum II—to Early Bronze Age I.
 
Stratum II. Concentrations of pottery dating to Early Bronze Age I are ascribed to this layer. Noteworthy among the finds are fragments of gray burnished bowls that were recovered from a tamped earth floor in the northern and eastern parts of the excavation area. No walls or architectural elements were found in this layer. The potsherds from this period and from Early Bronze Age II were found scattered throughout the excavation squares, mainly below the installations of the Roman stratum.
 
Stratum I. Pits (depth of each 0.30–0.45 m) were scattered throughout the excavation area. These were characterized by semicircles constructed from small stones or several large flat stones (installations?; Figs. 1, 2). Remains of a small stone surface, which was a kind of pavement, were visible in one of the shallow pits (0.2 m; Fig. 3). A burnt layer (thickness 0.2–0.4 m) was in the vicinity the pits, which contained mainly fragments of cooking pots and jars dating to the Roman period (second–fourth centuries CE; Fig. 4). Owing to the poor preservation of the pits, it was not possible to determine their function; however, based on the burnt layer around them and the nature of the finds, it seems that they were used for cooking.
 
The construction activity from the 1950s probably resulted in the destruction of the settlement layers on the tell and all that was left are meager remnants indicative of a settlement from Early Bronze Age I and the Roman period. Pottery from Early Bronze Age III, Iron Age I and a single Hellenistic Attic fragment indicate that a settlement was situated on the tell in these periods. In addition, fragments of glazed bowls from the thirteenth century CE (the time of the fortress) were found along the southern edge of the excavation.