DUBY TAL/ALBATROSS/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. Situated close to the Philistine cities of Gath and Ekron, Tel Batash (biblical Timnah) lies in the Shephelah—a region of soft, sloping hills between the highlands to the east and the coastal plain to the west. Historically, the Shephelah has acted as a border region between the peoples of the highlands and the peoples of the coast, fostering interaction between different ethnic and cultural groups.