The site had previously been known as the Arab village of Zayta; its population was moved 1.5 km north during the period of Mandatory Palestine, and depopulated by Israel’s Givati Brigade in 1948.

Hazael of Aram may have been the military leader who ordered the destruction of the city in the ninth century BCE.

[3][non-primary source needed] The similar siege and destruction in 9th century BCE of Tell es-Safi, a nearby site usually identified as Gath, has been cited by archaeologists as possible evidence of Hazael's campaign.

[4][5] Work at Tel Zayit began with a preliminary survey in 1998 by a Pittsburgh Theological Seminary team led by Ron Tappy.

[6] During the 2005 season, archaeologists discovered the Zayit Stone among the ruins of a fire dating to the tenth century BC.