Beit Qufa

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Beit Qufa is an archaeological site in the Lod Valley of central Israel, near Beit Nehemia. It shows that people lived there from ancient times.

What was found
- Excavations uncovered remains from the Middle Bronze Age I, including a settlement, a bathhouse, terraces, and a lime kiln from the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods (Umayyad and Abbasid).

Ottoman period and later
- Beit Qufa became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1517. In 1596, tax records list it as a small village in the Ramla subdistrict, Gaza province, with 16 Muslim households. The villagers paid taxes on crops like wheat and barley, summer crops, goats, and beehives; the revenue went to a waqf (charity trust) for the Cave of the Patriarchs.
- In the 17th century the village was abandoned, and people moved to nearby places such as Bayt Nabala, Ajjul, and Arura.
- In the 18th and 19th centuries the area belonged to the Lod nahiya (district), stretching from Modi’in-Maccabim-Re’ut to El’ad, with thousands living in about 20 villages and vast agricultural lands.

Local history
- Local tradition says a Yaman immigrant from the Khuzā‘a tribe, Salām b. Harfūsh, camped near Bayt Nablā and Bayt Qūfā. His sons settled in Bayt Nabala, and Beit Qufa’s lands were later absorbed by Beit Nabala.

Coordinates
- 31°58′24.6″N 34°57′31.7″E

Summary
Beit Qufa is an ancient site with remains from multiple eras, showing a long history of settlement in the Lod Valley and connections to nearby communities.