Khirbet Kefireh is a modern town just north of Katana, Israel on a hilltop covering about 4-5 acres. It appears in the Survey of Western Palestine map compiled in the 1870s, and most Bible

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

 dictionaries identify it with Chephirah

Chephirah

Chephirah is one of four towns named in Joshua 9:17 along with Gibeon, Beeroth, and Kiriath-Jearim. The context is a story explaining a peace treaty between the Israelites and the natives of this region...

.

Karel Vriezen extensively surveyed the site during September 1970, June and July 1973, and again in March and July 1974. The site contains two major sections: an upper citadel on the east side near its elevation peak (774 m), and a lower village on the west side. Additionally, three graves were examined about 150 meters to the northeast of the site.

Vriezen found evidence for major architectural changes dating to the Iron-II and Byzantine eras, and pottery shards spanning the Early Bronze, Iron I, Iron II, Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine. Highlights include a jar handle bearing a LMLK seal

LMLK seal

LMLK seals were stamped on the handles of large storage jars mostly in and around Jerusalem during the reign of King Hezekiah based on several complete jars found in situ buried under a destruction layer caused by Sennacherib at Lachish...

impression, and another handle bearing a pre-fired plus (+) mark.

The walls of the site included nine towers, three gates, and an entrance. A cistern and a quarry were found enclosed within the city walls.

Excavations are no longer possible due to the presence of modern habitations.