[1] The Early Bronze Age site at Kiryat Ata has been extensively excavated since 1990, revealing stratified remains from the Neolithic, EB (=early Bronze Age), IB and EB II periods.

[6] Archaeologists Mordechai Aviam and Dan Barag (1935–2009) thought it to be the Capharatha (Greek: Καφαραθ᾽) mentioned by Josephus[7] in the Lower Galilee, one of several views tentatively identified for the site.

Some have had crosses and Greek letters incised, supporting the theory that there was a Byzantine monastery located in the area.

[15] Incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517, Kufrata appeared in the census of 1596, located in the Nahiya of Acca, part of Safad Sanjak.

They paid a fixed tax rate of 20% on wheat, barley, fruit trees, cotton, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues; a total of 1,508 akçe.

[32] In the early 20th century, the lands of the Arab village of Kefr Etta were purchased by a Warsaw religious foundation named "Avodat Israel" through intermediaries in the American Zion Commonwealth.

[33] Kiryat Ata has a Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and cool and rainy winters.

According to CBS, in 2001 the ethnic makeup of the city was 99.8% Jewish and other non-Arab, without a significant Arab population.

The local basketball club, Elitzur Kiryat Ata, are in Ligat HaAl, the top division.

Archaeological surveys at Khirbet Sharta in the northeast part of the city revealed traces of habitation dating to the Bronze, Iron, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Mamluk eras.

[citation needed] In 2010, an archaeological survey was conducted at the ancient site of Kiryat Ata by Hagit Turge on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA),[35] and in 2014 and 2016 by Orit Segal.