Results of excavations carried out in 1949 and limited salvage excavations conducted since, indicate that the city has been continuously inhabited since its foundation. The minaret was built during the Mamluk period, in the 14th century. It is surrounded by walls, with a main gate in the east and a secondary entrance in the north. In its wall facing the courtyard is a row of 12 openings between pilasters supporting the ceiling of the mosque on this side. Under the courtyard the Umayyads constructed enormous, even-sized cisterns for storage of water which remain intact to this day.
Broad pilasters support the barrel-domed ceilings of the cisterns.
They were filled with rainwater collected from the area around the mosque and with water carried by an aqueduct from the springs in the hills east of Ramla. These reservoirs provided water for the worshipers at the mosque and filled the pool for ablutions at the center of the courtyard, of which only the foundation remains today. An Arabic inscription in Kufic script, which was found in the excavations, relates to the restoration of the plaster in the year 1408. The square minaret, several stories high, built by the Mamluks in the 14th century, stands to this day. Inside, it has a central staircase which takes one to the roof.