Imagine finding a 1,600-year-old farm that’s still telling stories about how people grew their food, shared resources, and lived with the land. That’s exactly what happened in Kafr Qasim, central Israel, where archaeologists uncovered a huge agricultural estate belonging to the Samaritans—an ancient community related to the Jewish people, who followed the Torah but had their own traditions and worship sites.
Today, the Samaritans are a small group of a few hundred people living in Israel and the West Bank. But 1,500 years ago, they were a thriving community spread across the region. This discovery is exciting not just for history buffs—it also offers clues about how ancient farmers worked with nature, ideas we can still use for sustainable farming today.
The excavation, carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and funded by the Israel Ministry of Construction and Housing, revealed buildings decorated with colorful mosaics, an olive oil press, and even a public ritual bath known as a miqveh. The site is within Khirbet Kafr Ḥatta, a settlement that existed from the 4th to 7th centuries CE—spanning the end of the Roman Empire into the Byzantine period.
One of the most stunning finds was a large mosaic floor filled with patterns and pictures of plants and foods grown in the area—grapes, dates, watermelons, artichokes, and asparagus. At the entrance, a Greek inscription wished the homeowner “Good Luck!” It’s a personal touch that makes the past feel very close, like the people who lived there could walk back in at any moment.
Food, Faith, and Clean Production
North of the main house, archaeologists found a big olive press, a warehouse, and the miqveh. This layout suggests the Samaritans pressed their olives into oil while keeping the process religiously pure. The olive press had two wings—one for crushing and pressing, and another for storage and support rooms. This type of press was more common in Jerusalem and the Judean lowlands, meaning the Samaritans may have been borrowing ideas and technology from other regions.
Olive oil wasn’t just for cooking—it was used for lighting lamps, in medicine, and in religious rituals. Producing it locally, and with care for purity, meant the community could meet its needs without over-relying on outside trade. It’s a reminder that local, sustainable food systems are not a new idea—they’ve been around for thousands of years.
Over the years, the estate changed. Some of the fancy mosaic floors were damaged when new walls were built. Columns and capitals from older buildings were reused in new structures. The archaeologists think these changes may be linked to political unrest—specifically, Samaritan revolts against Byzantine rulers in the 5th and 6th centuries CE, when restrictive laws targeted religious minorities.
What’s remarkable is that, unlike other Samaritan sites destroyed in these uprisings, the Kafr Qasim estate survived and kept its Samaritan identity. Excavators even found ceramic oil lamps with Samaritan symbols, showing that the people stayed connected to their heritage despite outside pressures. That kind of resilience is something we still need in the face of modern challenges like climate change and food security.
Why It Matters for Sustainability
This site isn’t just about pretty mosaics or ancient artifacts—it’s about how people lived in balance with their environment. The Samaritans grew their own food, processed it locally, reused building materials, and built infrastructure to last generations. These are all practices that fit into modern ideas like the circular economy and permaculture.
By studying ancient estates like this, we can see what worked for communities over centuries—and what led to their decline. It’s a chance to learn from both the successes and mistakes of the past, whether it’s about farming techniques, water management, or adapting to political change.
According to Israel’s Minister of Heritage, Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu, the find tells “another chapter in the shared story of the Jews and the Samaritans… communities that lived by the Torah, shared common roots, and experienced similar hardships.” For archaeologists, it’s a chance to piece together centuries of history; for the rest of us, it’s a reminder that sustainability isn’t just a modern buzzword—it’s a way of life humans have practiced, and sometimes forgotten, for millennia.
