Horbat Zefat ‘Adi extends across a large area along a hill on the eastern fringes of the ‘Akko Valley, between Shefar‘am and ‘Ibillin. A well is located on the eastern edge of the site. The site was damaged when a road that traversed it was paved during the time of the British Mandate, as well as by intensive cultivation of the fields in most of its area. The site was further damaged by the massive theft of stones. The excavation was conducted along a strip (c 15 × 70 m) south of the road. The same areas were excavated during both seasons.
A rural agricultural settlement existed at the site throughout numerous periods, during some of which earlier buildings were reused. The finds were dated to the following periods: Early Bronze Age I, II, Intermediate Bronze Age, the Persian, Hellenistic, Early Roman, Byzantine, Umayyad, Abbasid, Fatimid, Crusader, Mamluk and Ottoman periods. Evidence of Ottoman-period charcoal production was visible on surface.
The Early and Intermediate Bronze Ages. In the northeastern part of the excavation area, ceramic finds dating from the Early Bronze Age I, II and the Intermediate Bronze Age were discovered outside of any stratigraphic context and with no architectural affiliations. These finds were usually on bedrock or close to it.
The Persian and Hellenistic Periods. Numerous pottery fragments and a few building remains, including floors and wall stumps, were uncovered. A wealth of finds from the Hellenistic period was in the fill of the buildings from the Byzantine period.
The Early Roman Period. A pit (diam. 0.80–1.05 m), which contained numerous pottery fragments mostly dating to the Early Roman period, was excavated. Most outstanding were fragments of Terra Sigillata ware.
The Byzantine Period. Remains from this period were revealed throughout the excavation area, representing the main architectural phase at the site. Walls that were related to each other and aligned in the same direction were exposed; they were built of fieldstones and often founded on bedrock. Stone pavements, mosaic floors and beaten-earth floors were found as well. It seems that the walls were part of a single large building complex, possibly a monastery. Two phases were ascribed to the Byzantine period, discerned in both the building remains and the ceramic finds.
A rectangular room (preserved dimensions 2.0 × 4.5 m) in the eastern part of the area was paved with a mosaic, decorated with black and red geometric patterns; on the floor, opposite the entrance, was a cross design. Half the room was destroyed due to a later robber trench that had cut through it. It seems this room was a small chapel that belonged to the monastery. When the room was later reused, probably during the Umayyad and Abbasid periods, its northern wall was renovated. Its rebuilding had incorporated a stone in secondary use with a relief of a cross and an amphora that was probably part of an imposing lintel used in the chapel or nearby during the Byzantine period. North of the rectangular room, segments of a colored mosaic floor were detected in the collapse, suggesting the existence of a second story. In the southwestern part of the area another segment of a colored mosaic decorated with a pattern of flower buds was located; it had been destroyed when a telephone cable was laid in place. Several architectural elements were retrieved from the excavation area, including capitals adorned with crosses in relief and a stone decorated with a meticulously fashioned amphora in relief (Fig. 1). These elements probably originated in a building from the Byzantine period and were incorporated in secondary use in walls that postdated this period.
Finds that evidenced the agricultural nature of the monastery were also recovered. In the center of the area was a carefully built winepress that had a collecting vat paved and lined with a white mosaic (preserved height in excess of 2 m). A simple basalt oil press (bodeda) and a fragment of a basalt lower millstone that was part of a donkey mill were found on a courtyard’s floor. two hewn bell-shaped water cisterns were discovered as well.
The Umayyad Period and the Beginning of the Abbasid Period. It appears that following a short hiatus when the site was abandoned, part of the area was resettled. The reoccupation was undertaken in some of the buildings from the Byzantine period, mainly in the eastern part of the site. Sometimes, new stone floors were added to the earlier buildings and at other times, existing floors were reused. In the rectangular room (chapel?) for example, the earlier floor was reused and on it in the corner of the room basalt grinding stones were found. Fragments of pottery vessels from the Umayyad and Abbasid periods were also extant on this floor. Based on the ceramic and numismatic finds it appears that the settlement was abandoned at the end of the 8th century CE.
The Fatimid Period. Following a hiatus of about two hundred years, the main part of the site was resettled. Again, the new settlement utilized earlier buildings, while adding walls onto them and raising floor levels. Two building complexes from this period that were dated by the ceramic finds were uncovered. They were abandoned at the end of the Fatimid period and never reoccupied.
The Crusader Period. Scant building remains were revealed. A well constructed wall (exposed length 20 m, width 0.9 m), founded on bedrock, had two outer faces of well-dressed stones with a core of rubble fill and mortar. At least three entries were installed in the wall; they had doorjambs and stone thresholds of finely smoothed ashlar stones that had delicate diagonal drafting. It seems that the construction of this wall was never completed because no sign of wear was detected on the doorjambs and thresholds, there were no hinge sockets in the thresholds and the entire length of the top of the wall was leveled. The ceramic finds in the fill that covered the wall and the entries dated the wall to the 12th century, or the beginning of the 13th century CE. Further confirmation of this date was the wall’s foundation trench that had cut through floors dating to the Fatimid period. Near the surface was a section of a crushed chalk floor that was probably part of a residential dwelling, whose walls were dismantled. Pottery fragments on the floor are dated to the 13th century CE. remains of a building (7 × 10 m) that was constructed in the style of the Crusader period were exposed in the northeastern corner of the excavated area.
The Mamluk Period and the Beginning of the Ottoman Period. Settlement remains from these periods were exposed throughout most of the excavation areas. They were mainly inside the Byzantine-period building complex that may have been used as a monastery and included the reuse of the walls and floors. New walls and agricultural terraces were also constructed. In the center of the area was a square room (c. 2.5 × 2.5 m), whose walls were built of roughly hewn stones founded on bedrock; inside it was a large tabun (Fig. 2). The areas adjacent to this room were covered with large amounts of ash.
It is presumed that the settlement from the Early and Intermediate Bronze Ages, and the Persian and Roman periods was situated in the eastern part of the site, near the well; therefore, the finds from these periods are relatively meager in the excavation area. Judging by the ceramic material from the Hellenistic period in the fill, it seems that the settlement from this period extended over a large area along the edge of the ‘Akko Valley and was closely associated with the city of ‘Akko (Ptolemais). During the Byzantine period a monastery of an agricultural nature was apparently located at the site. It was destroyed at the beginning of the 7th century CE, probably within the destruction of Christian population centers along the northern coast of the country. The site was resettled and abandoned several times during the Early Islamic period. It is suggested that a Frankish settlement was situated here, based on the ceramic finds from the Crusader period. Historical sources from the 13th century indicate that this settlement belonged to the Teutonic Order and that German dwellers lived there. The Crusader-period settlement seems to have extended along the hilltop and somewhat around it, in the area located mostly beyond the limits of the excavation. Since the Crusader-period remains were very close to surface they were poorly preserved. The settlement from the Mamluk period and the beginning of the Ottoman period was an open one, probably occupied by clans. Animal pens and terrace walls were recorded around the houses. It seems the settlement from this period existed from the 14th until the 16th centuries CE. During the Ottoman period the settlement at the site was abandoned and only the remains of thick ash layers were discerned, attesting to the operation of a charcoal kiln on the site.