the more ancient site, "tel birwa" (variant: "tel berweh"), lies about one mile southwest of the arab village by the same name, and is said to be a mound measuring 600 paces in circumference at the top, and 75 feet high. the mound abounds with graeco-roman potsherds, showing that it was occupied down to roman times when it was abandoned, as no distinctively arab pottery could be found there. conder and kitchener thought that al-birwa preserves in its name the more ancient name of "beri" (), mentioned in the jerusalem talmud ("pesahim" iv.1 [26a]), seeing that both it and kabul are mentioned together. according to josephus, the villages in the immediate vicinity of kabul were pillaged and burnt during the first jewish revolt against rome.