Fâkhûra is a ruined Arab village north of Katzrin, of which little remains. It has been excavated along with various areas close by, which have revealed buildings belonging to rural Jewish settlement from the Roman and Early Byzantine Periods. The village itself was not built on ancient remains, but many animal husbandry remains have been found in the vicinity, dating as far back as the Chalcolithic period (the fifth to the second half of the fourth millennium BCE).
At the springs ('Ein' means a spring), which are very picturesque and placid, beneath extensive fig trees inside a eucalyptus grove, excavations revealed a scattering of sherds from the Chalcolithic period, but no remains of walls. Later earthworks and the construction of pens and terraces have left no visible remains of earlier times here.
Nevertheless this is a quiet and beautiful spot for a paddle! Which is what Amber and I did one hot summer's day, when we had the place to ourselves.
Above left: the road to Ein Fakhura, in the grove on the left of the picture; and the little stream emanating from the spring, which the track fords (right).
Above, myself and Amber at the spring, where we spotted a freshwater crab.