In 1834, during the rule of Muhammad Ali of Egypt over the region, the Arab village of Jisr az-Zarka ("Blue [River] Bridge" in Arabic) was established in the vicinity of the tell. Some six decades later, in 1898, the Ottoman authorities built a bridge on top of its ruined Roman precursor over the Crocodiles River near the tell, as part of preparations towards the visit of the German Emperor Wilhelm II, who requested to pass with his convoy from Haifa to Jerusalem along the coastline, rather than use the more inland route.[1][2] In 2020, the meanwhile collapsed Ottoman bridge was restored to its initial form with outmost care for accurate reconstruction.[7]