Three salvage excavations were conducted in Kafr Nahf from June to August 2001 ([1] Permit No. A-3441; map ref. NIG 23020–21/75975–76; OIG 18020–21/25975–76; [2] Permit No. A-3449; map ref. NIG 22990–91/76020–21; OIG 17990–91/26020–21; [3] Permit No. A-3479; map ref. NIG 23009–10/76010–11; OIG 18009–10/26010–11), to permit construction adjacent to existing buildings. The excavations, on behalf of the Antiquities Authority and funded by the owners of each separate property, were directed by H. Smithline, with the assistance of Y. Ya‘aqobi (administration), L. Porat (pottery restoration), H. Tahan (pottery drawing), G. Finkielsztejn (reading of the stamped Rhodian amphora handle).
[1] A square was opened in an area severely damaged by the operation of a bulldozer on the upper eastern slope of the tell. A plaster floor dating to the Byzantine period was discerned in the section created by the bulldozer, c. 2.5 m below surface. Evidence of intensive occupation in the Hellenistic period (third to second centuries BCE) was noted below the plaster floor, including a large amount of GCW (Galilean Coarse Ware). The Hellenistic presence was established on remains that consisted of a poorly preserved wall, dating to Early Bronze IB. In addition to the EB IB, Hellenistic and Byzantine material remains, there were potsherds dating to the EB II, MB II, Iron Age II and the Roman period.
[2] A square was excavated on the upper western slope that was damaged by the operation of a bulldozer. The western portion of the square showed evidence, such as pottery and building stones, of a Byzantine-period presence, although no construction was found. The corner of a structure, probably dating to the Hellenistic period, was found built on bedrock in the eastern part of the square. Unstratified potsherds were dated to EB II, MB II, Iron Age II and the Roman and early Ottoman periods.
[3] A square was excavated on the upper eastern slope, some distance south of the first excavation. A Byzantine-period tabun was uncovered in the lower eastern portion of the square. Nearby, a limestone screen fragment, possibly from a Byzantine-period church, was found. A stone fill, overlying rich ceramic finds dating to the Hellenistic period, about 2 m below present-day surface, occupied the center of the square. The finds, which represent a domestic assemblage from the late third to second centuries BCE, included fragments of imported amphorae, a stamped amphora handle dating to 147 BCE, bowls, cooking vessels, lamps and storage jars. Potsherds dating to EB II, the Iron Age and the Persian and Roman periods were encountered as well.
The tell of Nahf lies below the present-day village, with its crowded and closely constructed houses. The three excavations present a picture of intensive occupation at the site, beginning in EB IB and culminating in the Hellenistic and Byzantine periods, which were particularly dominant in the three excavated areas.