Image Details

KHIRBET AL-RA‘I EXPEDITION

CULTURAL CROSSROADS. The ancient site of Khirbet al-Ra‘i (“ruin of the shepherd” in Arabic) straddles the summit of a small ridge in the Judean Shephelah. Its strategic location made it a crossroads for the region’s Canaanite, Philistine, and Israelite populations; in addition, it may be the site of biblical Ziklag, a town controlled by David before he became king of Israel. Excavations between 2015 and 2021 focused on four areas, visible in this photograph of the site that looks northwest toward the fertile coastal plain: In Area A in the site’s southwest corner and Area B on its eastern edge, archaeologists excavated the site’s unwalled perimeter; Area C explored the northern extent of the site; and Area D focused on the highest point of the ancient settlement.