In July 2019, an excavation was conducted at Ramat Bet Shemesh (Permit No. A-8556; map ref. 198971–9478/625258–425; Fig. 1), following the discovery of ancient remains prior to the installation of a water line. The excavation, on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority and funded by the Bet Shemesh Water Corporation, was directed by N. Ben-Ari, with the assistance of Y. Weingarten (area supervision), N. Nehama (administration), S. Halevy (photogrammetry), O. Zakaim (plans), Z. Kanias (preliminary inspections), S. Gendler (metal detecting), J. Tiano (GPS), Y. Asscher (analytic laboratory), A. De Groot and I. Taxel (pottery), I. Lidsky-Reznikov (finds drawing) and D. Gazit (RTI photography), as well as Y. Zelinger and A. Shadman of the Jerusalem district.
Ben-Ari et al. (2023) studied this question.