 Archaeologist David Ussishkin has described the site as "a monumental edifice in terms of contemporary architecture".The temple was discovered in 1956 by Yohanan Aharoni during an archaeological survey of the Ein Gedi region.Yosef Naveh carried out a trial excavation in the following year, finding animal bones, flint flakes, shells and sherds identifying the site as a public building from the Chalcolithic-Ghassulian period, possibly a shrine.