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The Cross-Israel Highway project was initiated in 1992. From the start, it was clear that archaeological research would play an important part in the planning and subsequent construction of the road. The exceptional professional cooperation between the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Cross-Israel Highway Company assured the preservation of our national heritage, while furthering the paving of the highway.

Archaeological investigations along the Cross-Israel Highway were conducted in several stages. First, the main tells along the projected route were marked and the route was planned to bypass them; then, comprehensive surveys commenced, during which all sites were documented, including recommendations as to which of them should be excavated and to what extent. Trial excavations followed, in cooperation with the archaeological institutes of the universities. Subsequently, salvage excavations were conducted in accordance with the data retrieved from the surveys and trial excavations. The intensive surveys and excavations along the Cross-Israel Highway revealed sites that had been hitherto unknown and, in addition, provided important data concerning previously documented sites.

The archaeological surveys and excavations along the Cross-Israel Highway provide for a rare opportunity to examine data retrieved from surveys versus excavation results. A total of 125 sites, dispersed over five different geographical regions, were documented, including settlements, installations, quarries, burial caves and ancient roads. The vast data acquired along the route provides invaluable information concerning settlement patterns and distribution throughout various periods. It is noteworthy that most of the excavation results mirrored those of the surveys. However, sites dating to the prehistoric and Chalcolithic periods, as well as the Intermediate Bronze Age, were often unnoticed in the surveys and they were detected only in probes. Following the survey and excavation results several sites were saved from destruction and preserved for generations to come.

Prehistoric research along the Cross-Israel Highway was undertaken from the earliest planning stages of the archaeological surveys along the intended route. During this survey, much data was accumulated concerning site function, economics, intra-site interaction etc. In the systematic survey and the subsequent excavations, 31 prehistoric sites were identified, dating from the Lower Paleolithic period to the Chalcolithic period, covering a time span of c. 500,000 years. This review presents a brief description of the surveyed and excavated sites for which there is available data, as well as a comparison with other sites from the same period.

This report presents the results of two separate salvage excavations conducted east of Tel Malot in the region of ‘Emeq Ayyalon. The earliest presence at the site dates to the early Pottery Neolithic period, comprising an occupation horizon and pits. Several other pits contained artifacts of the Chalcolithic period. The excavated area was also settled during Middle Bronze Age II, and possibly through Late Bronze Age I, when the area served for agricultural and industrial activities. Remains from the Iron Age and Persian period are meager. A winepress from the Hellenistic period suggests the existence of a farming community at the site. The Byzantine period is best represented in this area, covering three centuries (fifth–seventh centuries CE). During the Early Islamic period, the area seems to have been used for burial. The finds at the eastern foot of Tel Malot form an archaeological picture that is characteristic of areas adjacent to urban centers.

Within the boundaries of the ancient cemeteries associated with the protohistoric settlement of ‘En Esur, another tomb (T80), dated to EB IB–EB II, was discovered. A close examination of the burial gifts reveals a notable regionalism, in contrast with the imported and luxury goods discovered in other tombs in the ‘En Esur cemeteries. The local nature of the finds and lack of prestige items, as well as the anthropological analysis of the interred, might suggest that a less-affluent group of people was buried here.

Five excavation areas were investigated at Horbat Nazur, between Nahal ‘Iron in the north and Nahal Narbeta in the south. In Areas A and B the remains of a massive building, dating from the Hellenistic or possibly the Persian period, were uncovered. Area C was probably part of the agricultural hinterland of the settlement, revealing various installations, terrace walls and fences of unknown date. In Area E, two burial caves, quarries and a winepress were unearthed, all dating to the Byzantine period.

Excavations at the southern and eastern fringes of Horbat Kosit, west of Baqa el-Gharbiya, uncovered the peripheral area of the site, which was exploited for various industrial uses and for burial. At Horbat Kosit (East) three strata were recorded, the main one (Stratum III) including a Roman-period burial ground. The site of Nahal Hadera (North) yielded 24 rock-cut graves of a type previously assigned to the Essene or the Nabbatean populations. At Horbat Kosit (South), numerous rock-cut installations, cisterns and a tomb were recovered; the finds date from Early Bronze Age I to the Roman period.