In April 2019, a trial excavation was conducted on Trumpeldor Street in ‘Akko (Permit No. A-8505; map ref. 207275–311/758985–9029; Fig. 1), prior to construction work. The excavation, undertaken on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority and funded by ‘Akko Municipality, was directed by J.A. Sánchez Streger, with the assistance of D. Syon (scientific guidance and metal detection), M. Peled (photography and photogrammetry), W. Atrash (consultation), A. Abu Hamid (pottery) and H. Tahan-Rosen (plan and pottery drawing), as well as G. Cinamon and H. Aboud-Abu-‘Uqsa.
Two excavation squares (50 sq m) opened 15 m apart contained remains of a building. Based on past excavations, the building is located within a residential neighborhood of ‘Akko-Ptolemais dating from the Hellenistic period (third–second centuries BCE; Stern 2016:229). Previous excavations conducted nearby uncovered remains from the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Crusader and Ottoman periods (Avshalom-Gorni 1999 [Fig. 1: A-2254]; Stern and Shalvi-Abbas 1999 [Fig. 1: A-2324]; Beeri 2008; Hartal 2016 [Fig 1: A-1763, A-1796, A-2082, A-2113, A-4677, A-5505, A-5639, A-7429]; Stern 2016).
Three walls (W103–W105; Figs. 2, 3) revealed in the northern square were founded on soil and built of dry construction using dressed stones; the walls were preserved to a height of 2 m. A layer of tamped earth and small stones (L112) discovered between the walls may be the bedding of a floor that was not preserved. Immediately southeast of the building, a small segment of another wall was uncovered (W110); it is unclear if this was associated with the building or part of another building. No pottery was found beneath the wall bases, the sterile soil indicating that there was no human activity at the site prior to the building’s construction. Rich and mixed ceramic finds retrieved from the soil accumulation inside the building include bowls (Fig. 4:1, 2), jars (Fig. 4:3) and an amphora (Fig. 4:4) from the Hellenistic period (third century BCE); bowls (Fig. 4: 5, 6) and a jar (Fig. 4:7) from the Roman period; and medieval bowls (Fig. 4:8–11).
In the southern square (Fig. 5), the construction of a modern building had damaged the site’s ancient remains, which were not preserved in situ. The site yielded abundant pottery dating from the Hellenistic, Roman and Ottoman periods to the present day.
The excavation discovered remains of a building belonging to a Hellenistic residential neighborhood. The sterile soil discovered beneath the wall foundations reinforces the conclusion that the area outside Tel ‘Akko was not settled prior to the Hellenistic period (Stern 2016:227).
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