Image Details

A model of the earliest Iron Age I settlement at Beer-sheba (Stratum IX) is seen here in color. Dwelling pits were cut into the rock on the slope of the hill and above the well. (The well is the small hole at the bottom of the slope.) Some of the pits were covered by beams and branches; others were protected by fabric or leather (at top of hill). Channels connected the pits and served as entrance lanes (lower center of slope). Huts or tents were probably erected in the open spaces between the pits.