Overview

• The Israel Antiquities Authority announced the discovery at Kh. Kafr Ḥatta, identifying a large agricultural compound dating to the fourth–seventh centuries CE.
• Excavators documented richly decorated mosaic floors, including fruit and vegetable motifs and a Greek good‑luck inscription linked to an owner named Rabia, a name common in Samaritan communities.
• The northern sector contained an industrial olive‑oil installation with two screw presses and a crushing basin beside a public purification bath (miqveh), plus a spacious warehouse.
• Archaeologists say the complex shifted from elite residential use to organized oil production during the Byzantine era, yet material such as Samaritan‑style oil lamps indicates the community’s continuity.
• The dig was financed by the Israeli Ministry of Construction and Housing as part of a new neighborhood project, with conservation proceeding alongside development; the site is also tied in historical sources to Menander, a noted Samaritan figure.