Pottery Neolithic period. Remains from this period were only found in two spots. One is a potsherd concentration within a natural hollow in the bedrock and the other is a rock-hewn installation with a conical pit in its center (diam. 1.1 m, depth 1.2 m; Fig. 2). Cupmarks are hewn on the edge of the pit and on the bedrock surface alongside it. The function of this installation is unknown. The date of the pit was determined by several potsherds found on its bottom.
Early Chalcolithic period. Remains from this period were only noted in a broad hollow between rocks in Area H, where a rich abundance of potsherds was found. These included fragments of bowls, holemouth jars and jars with strap handles together with handles that have a triangular cross-section. The most frequent decoration is a rope band in relief. The assemblage should be ascribed to the end of the Early Chalcolithic period, to the phase that is also referred to as Middle Chalcolithic or the Stratum XVIII culture at Bet She’an.
Late Chalcolithic Period. The artifacts from this period included concentrations of finds in three caves that collapsed in antiquity; some of the remains were covered by the collapse of the caves’ ceilings. The jars of the period are characterized by handles with a triangular cross-section, rather than with strap handles. The prevalent decoration is a rope-like relief with an incised ornamentation alongside it. Noteworthy among the finds are two unusual discoveries. Numerous remains of an anvil used by a craftsman to produce sickle blades and adzes were found in one of the caves (Figs. 3, 4); to date, no such anvils have been found in the north of the country. An elongated pit that was used for liquids is probably a winepress (Fig. 5). The winepress was installed on the ceiling of a cave that had collapsed in the Late Chalcolithic period and it should therefore be dated to this period (Fig. 6). If the identification and date of the installation are correct, then this is the earliest winepress ever found in Israel and it indicates the beginning of the wine industry in the country.
Early Bronze Age. Numerous remains ascribed to this period were found in both excavation areas. The people of the period dwelled in caves, some of which had already been inhabited during the Chalcolithic period; they also built several residential structures on the surface. A habitation level that overlaid a burial of young male goats was found (Fig. 7). The pottery vessels included gray-burnished ware that is characteristic of Early Bronze IA and many vessels that are characteristic of Early Bronze IB. Noteworthy among the finds from the late phase is a floor, overlain with many fragments of pithoi, which are characteristic of the period’s assemblages in the Western Galilee (Fig. 8).
A rock-hewn cave was found in the northern part of Area H; interments in the cave were performed in both phases of Early Bronze I (Fig. 9). The settlement was abandoned in the late phase of the period and only isolated potsherds from Early Bronze II were found; these were probably swept there from Giv‘at Yavor, which was inhabited at this time.
Intermediate Bronze Age. Remains from this period were only found in the upper part of Area H; however, it should be noted that an abundance of remains from this period had previously been discovered in Areas B, D, and E. The remains included a building with two small rooms and accumulations close to the surface (Fig. 10).
After the settlement was abandoned in this period, residents did not return to live at the site until the establishment of a training farm by the Jewish Agency in the 1970s.
Roman Period. Tiny fragments of pottery vessels from this period were found on the surface throughout the entire site. It seems that these were transported together with the refuse of settlements brought here for the purpose of fertilizing the fields. Rows of large stones that were used in the construction of farming terraces along the slope should probably also be attributed to this period (Fig. 11).