Table 1. Previous excavations at the site
Year
Excavator
Finds
Publication
1993
O. Shmueli
Refuse pits from the Byzantine and Ottoman periods
1996, 1997
R. Gophna and
A. Feldstein
Settlement remains from the Chalcolithic period, architectural remains from the Late Byzantine period and tombs from the Mamluk period
1998
A. Gorzalczany
Five cist tombs and architectural remains from the Byzantine period or the beginning of the Early Islamic period
1999
F. Vitto
Tombs from the Mamluk period
Permit No. A-3023
2000
S. Golan
Pit graves and cist tombs from the Early Islamic period
2000
A. Buchennino
Remains from the Chalcolithic period
2005
E. Kogan-Zehavi
A kiln’s refuse pit from the Byzantine period
2006
D. Barkan and
E. Jakoel
Cist tombs and plastered installations from the Byzantine period and beginning of the Early Islamic period.
2007
O. Sion and
Y. Rapuano
Three sarcophagi, building remains and accumulations of sherds and debris from a pottery workshop from the Byzantine period, architectural remains from the Ottoman period
2009
J. Marcus
Two cist tombs
2009 N. Golding-Meir Byzantine tombs Golding-Meir 2013
 
In the current excavation, eight squares were opened in two areas in order to examine the nature and density of the finds (Fig. 2). The excavation revealed architectural remains of Kafr Ana, dating from the nineteenth century until it was abandoned in 1948, and occupation levels without building remains, dating to the Chalcolithic and Byzantine–Islamic periods.
 
Area A. Remains of a building comprising at least two rooms, which apparently belonged to Kafr Ana (Figs. 3, 4) were found. No openings, nearby installations or floors were discerned; Late Ottoman-period pottery found in the soil accumulations inside the building and in a level beneath the building remains provides a date for the structure. A large quantity of broken terra-cotta roof tiles was found in the rooms. The roof tiles were made at the Roux Bros. factory in St. Henri, a suburb of Marseilles in the south of France; these tiles were common in this land from the 1870s or 1880s until the early decades of the twentieth century CE. The finds also included fragments of Hebron-manufactured glass bracelets—inexpensive jewelry that was very common in this land and neighboring lands. The building was used until 1948, as evidenced by the strips of concrete (Fig. 5) on top of the kurkar courses. A coin minted in 1942 was found just outside of the building’s southwestern wall.
The remains do not allow us to draw any conclusions regarding the nature of the structure. 
 
Pottery sherds from the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods, mostly fragments of ribbed jars, were found below the Ottoman and Mandatory remains; this was also the case in several places in Area B. A column base built of stones and other remains found northeast of the two later rooms (L124; Fig. 6) also indicate pre-Ottoman activity.
 
Area B. The main architectural remains—the northeastern part of a structure dating to the late nineteenth and early twentieth century CE—were found at the southeastern edge of the site, in Sqs 1 and 2. Parts of two wall foundations met at the northeastern corner and enclosed a relatively large space, most of which was covered with a coarse stone pavement (L206; Figs. 7, 8). The pavement was probably the foundation of an earthen or stone floor. No installations or doorways were found. The building was destroyed or abandoned during the War of Independence or following it. The finds from inside the building and down to the bottom of its foundations included numerous fragments of Marseilles roof tiles, similar to those found in Area A (Fig. 9). Fragments of pottery vessels dating to the Late Ottoman period were also found. These were mainly household items, many of which are Gaza ware. Glass bracelets and beads manufactured in Hebron, a copper pendant (Fig. 10) and a German pistol dating to the early twentieth century (Fig. 11) were also found. Fragments of pottery vessels dating to the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods, without any architectural context, were found in the level below the Ottoman period structures.
 
In the northern part of Area B, c. 1.2 m below the surface in Sqs 4, 5, 7 and 8, was a layer rich in Chalcolithic-period artifacts of the Ghassulian culture. Chalcolithic-period remains were revealed in several of the previous excavations carried out in Or Yehuda and in nearby Yehud. No architectural remains, floors or installations were found, although some evidence of crumbled mud-bricks was discerned in the sections. The finds included a variety of pottery vessels and flint implements, grinding stones and loom weights, as well as basalt bowls that were common during this period (Fig. 12). Chalcolithic strata were also identified beneath the Ottoman and Byzantine–Islamic levels in Sqs 1, 2 and 6. The artifacts and remains from the Chalcolithic stratum indicate that a flint industry existed at the site, and that the inhabitants engaged in agriculture, domestic food and clothing production, as well as animal husbandry that included sheep and goats, cattle and pigs.
 
The excavation has contributed to our knowledge about the Ottoman and Mandatory periods in the region, as well as to local Chalcolithic activity. The late finds, from the village of Kafr Ana, tell of the construction style prevalent in it, such as the use of imported Marseilles roof tiles, and of the variety of household wares and jewelry that were common at the time. The Chalcolithic finds, although devoid of architectural remains, illustrate the nature of the activities carried out at the site and provide comparative typological data that is indicative of trade and cultural relations with other areas in the center and south of the country. The meager finds from the Byzantine–Islamic period are consistent with the conclusions drawn from previous excavations conducted nearby, according to which the site served in certain phases mainly for industry and in others—as a spread-out burial ground.