[7] The oldest inscription found in the complex was in reference to the building of the temple's massive enclosure known as The great wall of Awwam by Mukarrib Yada`'il Dharih I in the middle of the 7th century BCE.

[8]The largest part of the temple is occupied by an unguarded yard that is enclosed by a stone wall with an irregular oval ground plan.

Partial excavation of Awwam peristyle in 1951–1952 by the American Foundation for the Study of Man that was led by Wendell Philips, cleared the entrance court almost completely and made numerous discoveries.

Geomorphological investigations have shown that the Awwam temple was erected on high natural platform, making it even more impressive for the viewers.

Access to the complex was controlled by doors leading to hierarchical series of courtyards and halls that served as transitional areas.

The temple itself was oriented towards the rising sun (north-east) and consisted of eight pillars propylaeum marking the entrance, followed by large rectangular peristyle hall, and massive oval shaped enclosure with other exterior linked structures (nearby cemetery).

The hall has a semi-rectangular form, with a pillared 8 monolith propylaeum entrance, topped by square tenons designed to accommodate an architrave.

Ancient South Arabian buildings, including Awwam peristyle hall, appears to be pre-planned according to a system of prescribed measurements instead of full use of space.

[11] AFSM excavation in the paved courtyard revealed multiple South Arabian inscriptions, a group of broken column capitals, bronze plaques, altars, and numerous pottery statues,[12] along with potsherds that date back roughly to 1500–1200 BCE.

[1] A visible water conduit made from alabaster used to run through the hall and into a bronze basin (69 × 200 cm) placed in a room for purification purposes.

The sanctuary includes a raised platform within the temple's sacred area representing primordial mound, which makes it more impressive when looked from a distance.

A third gate was discovered by AFSM, but this was restricted to funerary rites usage as it was the cemetery entrance, and could only be accessed from the interior of the oval sanctuary.

This holiness is demonstrated by the existence of three places for purification and to perform ablutions before entering the sacred spaces, primarily the oval sanctuary (dwelling house of Almaqah).

[19] The main entry site into the Awwam Temple for worshipers was through the west side of the complex and was controlled by a set of gates.

[21] A number of policies appear to have been put into place in order to maintain the sanctity and purity of the Awwam Temple during pilgrimage.

Texts indicate that a requirement for pilgrims was that they be in a state of ritual purity upon entrance of sacred sites (and fines were also distributed for violating these).

Achieving a state of purity was a multi-step process, facilitated by several rooms in the temple, including ritual washings (ablutions).

Rooms were also present in this shrine for pilgrims to sleep where they would receive dreams sent by the oracle (a practice widely attested in the Near East that is called incubation).