[citation needed] The walled Jewish settlement of Migdal Aphek or Afek stood at the site as early as the second century BCE, and was destroyed by the Romans during the First Jewish–Roman War in 67 CE.
From a Byzantine-period church, a lintel set over a stone-built doorway survives, bearing the Greek inscription "ΜΑΡΤΥΡΙΟΝ ΤΟΥ ΑΓΙΟΥ ΚΗΡΥΚΟΥ", Martyr shrine (martyrion) of Saint Kyriko.
[4] In the Crusader period, a castle named Mirabel was built at the site of ancient Migdal Afek.
In the 17th century, the village was taken over by the Rayyān family, who arrived from Transjordan and built a two-story manor house.
[5] In de 1940s, the Solel Boneh quarry at Migdal Tzedek was used by Ta'as, the underground Jewish arms industry, for testing the first weapons it produced.