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KHIRBET AL-RA‘I EXPEDITION

DESTRUCTION OF BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS. Having emerged in the wake of the 11th-century fires, the Israelite phase of Khirbet al-Ra‘i was itself short-lived, as indicated by the substantial 11th- or tenth-century destruction layer discovered in Area B. This photo shows a clear burn layer and smashed pottery in one of several destroyed rooms. Uncertainty remains about who was responsible for this destruction; however, if one accepts the identification of the site with biblical Ziklag, once controlled by David, then the conflagration may have been at the hands of the Amalekites (1 Samuel 30:1).