Remains from the site dating to the Second Temple period include hundreds of Aramaic ostraca,[1] what appears to be a 4th-century BCE shrine dedicated to Yahweh,[2] and a burial cave featuring Hebrew inscriptions dating from the 1st century BCE to the 2nd century CE.

[3] In the 1930s, Ben Zvi visited Khirbet al-Qum and stayed at the residence of Sheikh Suleiman from the Irgum family.

[4] Archaeological excavations were conducted at the site in 1967 by William G. Dever on behalf of the Hebrew Union College.

[15] One thousand seven hundred ostraca in Aramaic may have been found on the site and the vicinity, dating from the Persian and Hellenistic periods, during which the area was classified as the Persian province of Idumea, with a mixed population of Edomites, Jews and Arabs.

[17] Khirbet el-Qom may have housed a Yahwistic shrine in the 4th century BCE, likely serving the small Judean population of northern Idumea, making it one of three known Yahwistic shrines in ancient Israel during this period, alongside the Second Temple in Jerusalem and the Samaritan Temple on Mount Gerizim.