Chalcolithic Period. A floor (2–3 sq m) composed of light-colored mortar—local soil mixed with ash—was was dated to the Chalcolithic period based on an initial identification of the flint tools found above and below it.
 
Late Bronze Age. Two documented burials were dated to the Late Bronze Age based on the pottery found beside them.
 
Iron Age. Three tombs containing Iron Age vessels were excavated. One yielded jars, juglets and an oil lamp; the second contained a bowl lamp and a chalice; and the third bore Jars decorated with red paint. A nearby tomb, which was recorded but not excavated, yielded beads and fragments of bronze bracelets; it is probably of the same date as the three excavated tombs.
 
Persian Period. Part of an irregularly shaped structure built of mud-bricks was unearthed. Layers of ash with slag excavated nearby indicate that some type of processing was carried out here, but due to the limitations of the excavation it was impossible to identify the nature of the work. Potsherds scattered over a wide area near the installation included amphorae and imported vessels that probably originated on the Phoenician coast and date from the Persian period.
 
Byzantine Period. An ashlar-built structure (Fig. 1) with a white mosaic floor was partially excavated. A stone course (bench?) was unearthed along the building’s south wall. Potsherds found on the floor included imported Byzantine-period bowls and roof tiles. Although no burial remains were found, it was probably a burial site
 
Mamluk Period. An installation built of burned mud-bricks and covered with limestone on the outside was found. The installation’s floor sloped slightly to the east. Production debris and potsherds dated to the Mamluk period were found on the floor and around the installation. A burial encountered near the south side of the installation was dated to this period based on the pottery finds.
 
Ottoman Period. Vestiges of earthen floors with finds, such as clay tobacco pipes and fragments of pottery and glass vessels, were dated to the Ottoman period. Due to the limitations of the excavation, the outlines of the buildings around the floors were not identified, although they may be missing altogether, as they were destroyed over the years. Four graves documented immediately to the north of the floors and close to the surface should probably be dated to this period.
 
The excavation finds show that the area to the southeast of the tell served as an industrial area in the Persian and Mamluk periods, and as a cemetery in the Late Bronze and Iron Ages and probably in the Byzantine, Mamluk and Ottoman periods as well. As this was the first excavation conducted near the tell—a tell which has been destroyed, and its deposits scattered throughout the fields in the valley—the excavation is an important contribution to our knowledge of the site and its history.