Archaeological excavations found meager remains of a large Early Byzantine church, whose foundation walls served as a base for Late Byzantine, Early Islamic and Crusader buildings.[1] The Jerusalem Talmud mentions the settlement under the Aramaic name Migdal Malhā (Demai 2:1,22c), meaning 'Saltworks Tower', a name preserved in the Latin form, Turris Salinarum, until the Crusader period.[1] In the Byzantine period this was the northernmost settlement of the municipal area of Caesarea, the provincial capital.[1] Substantial remains were unearthed from the Late Byzantine period, including ponds for the breeding of freshwater fish close to the Tel Tanninim Aqueduct, and ponds for saltwater fish closer to the shore.[1] The aqueduct and fish ponds were built in the fourth century and operated continuously until the end of the seventh century, in the Umayyad period.[1]