During March 2006, a salvage excavation was conducted in the east part of the Kafr Kama village in the Lower Galilee, on the eastern bank of Nahal Kama (Permit No. A-4736*; map ref. NIG 241874–83/736203–12; OIG 191874–83/236203–12). The excavation, on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, was directed by E. Amos, with the assistance of Y. Lavan (administration) and N. Getzov (guidance).
The excavation area was located in a lot that had been cultivated many years ago and was expanded into bedrock to the east. Remains of walls that were founded on top of bedrock were visible in an exposed section (Fig. 1). A probe trench was excavated, revealing pieces of an industrial mosaic, a floor’s bedding and numerous potsherds.
A large cluster of white limestone tesserae (2.0 × 2.5 cm) that belonged to a mosaic floor and potsherds covered with plaster from the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods were exposed (Fig. 2). The pieces of mosaic and dismantled floor bedding were found mixed in agricultural soil that was deposited on top of a large bedrock surface (Fig. 3).
It became evident that the foundations of the ancient walls noted in the sections were above the level of the lot. It seems that during the preparation and leveling of the area in recent years, agricultural soil, which contained the remains of a farming installation from the Byzantine or Early Islamic periods, was brought here from the surrounding vicinity. Modern artifacts among the pieces of mosaic indicate that this installation was dismantled during the modern era.