Khirbet Qeiyafa in the Shephelah

Book excerpt: Excavations at the early Iron age site of Khirbet Qeiyafa (Israel), directed from 2007 to 2011 by Yosef Garfinkel and Saar Ganor under the auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Israel Antiquities Authority, have attracted considerable scholarly and media attention since the very first season, when the discovery of an inscribed ostracon sparked controversies over the site's historical significance and nature. Located at the entrance of the Elah Valley, protected by a casemate wall and two monumental gateways, the settlement of Qeiyafa existed for barely half a century. Its dating and the correlation of the archaeological evidence with the regional history, not least the rise of an early Judahite monarchy, have become matters of intense academic debate. Resulting from a colloquium of the Swiss Society of Ancient Near Eastern Studies, this volume offers a condensed report by main excavator Yosef Garfinkel as well as several in-depth studies on archaeological, historical, epigraphical, iconographical and biblical issues.