Avraham Biran, still active at age 92, revisits the ancient site of Aroer, in the northern Negev. Biran excavated here from 1975 to 1982 in hopes of finding remains from the time of King David. Though he was unsuccessful in that quest, Biran did uncover a thriving outpost settlement that flourished in the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. and in the first centuries B.C. and A.D.