During June 2009, archeological excavations in the courtyard of the Burj building from the Ottoman period exposed a small building that dated to the Byzantine period. Byzantine ceramics have been found at the structure.
A stone with Greek inscription was found at the burj site, which has been reused in a Crusader fortress.
Late Ottoman and Mandate periods
In 1882, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine described it: "Walls and foundations without any indication of date." A population list from about 1887 showed that place, called Burj el Kheil, had about 105 inhabitants; all Muslims. On October 26, 1898, German Kaiser Wilhelm II stayed at the Burj khan building during his visit to the Holy Land.
Early Zionist activity
Turkish owner, Sidki Pasha, brother of Jamal Pasha, sold 4,000 dunams of the Burj farmland to ICA in 1903. The serious drawback was that most of the land was an uncultivable swamp. Rothschild turned the land over to Binyamina's holdings. Initially a group of farmers from Zichron Ya'akov stayed at the khan during the week, due to the distance to their hometown. The group was called Burja’im.
Binyamina (1922)
Subsequently, Binyamina was founded. A letter from early 1920s describes establishment of Binyamina: "The 'Zichronim' owners of Burj farm decided to establish a moshavah in this farm, in order to settle their sons there… " Burj became Binyamina in 1922. In the 1931 census Khirbat Al-Burj was listed under Binyamina. The ownership of the village land was determined in 1934 according to the Land Settlement Ordinances. By the time of the 1945 village survey, there were 5,291 dunums, 15 of which were owned by Arabs, 4,933 owned by Jews, and 343 were public.
In the 1945 Index Gazetteer, Khirbat Al-Burj was listed as a "village unit" but "no population". According to Frantzman, the 1:20,000 map shows "a large structure, akin to a khan with no indication that it was populated". According to Khalidi, Khirbat Al-Burj was a Palestinian village which was depopulated by Israelis in 1948. Khalidi also says the "village" was "known for its citrus crops" and situated on "rolling terrain".
Agriculture
The red sandy clay loam soils from Binyamina to Gedera, west of the coastal plain, were not cultivated till the 20th century. The original economy of Binyamina was citrus-based.
