Soil accumulations, most likely the remains of the mud-brick buildings that were not preserved, were discovered mainly in Strata IV–II. No stone foundations of buildings were found. Remains of floors, baking ovens, stoves and pits were also discovered in these strata. An interesting find that was discovered in Stratum III is the skeleton of a cow whose severed head was placed next to its back (Fig. 1). The complete preservation of the skeleton indicates the animal was buried. The finds in Stratum IV include several punctured pottery sherds and strap handles belonging to the Wadi Rabah culture and dating to the beginning of the Early Chalcolithic period, and churns that are typical of the end of the Early Chalcolithic period. The finds in Stratum III include holemouth vessels with a trapezoidal-like rim and gray-burnished kraters that have flaring walls and knob handles, dating to the EB IA. The finds in Stratum II include gray burnished bowls with carinated and inverted walls, bow-rimmed pithoi, fragments of pottery vessels adorned with band-slip painting and many other vessels characteristic of EB IB assemblages in the Jezreel Valley.

More than 26 graves that penetrated the earlier layers were discovered in Stratum I. With the exception of one grave that was excavated in its entirety, none of the graves were unearthed. Most of the graves are dated to the Roman period on the basis of cooking pots that were placed alongside some of them. A Middle Bronze I (MB IIA) tomb, in which pottery vessels were arranged around the perimeter of the burial pit close to the wall, was exposed; the remains of a young boy were discovered in the center of the pit (Fig. 2). Another tomb that is dated to the Hellenistic period on the basis of a spindle-shaped juglet placed next to the head of the deceased, was exposed.

 

The excavation finds are further evidence of the large settlement that was located in the western part of the site in ‘Afula. In this excavation, a settlement layer dating to the Early Chalcolithic period was exposed for the first time. Apparently, no settlement occupied the site after the Early Bronze Age, and the area was used mainly for burying the inhabitants of the settlement that was located east of the site.