Tell Beit Mirsim

It was excavated for four seasons (1926, 1928, 1930 and 1932) by William F. Albright.^[1]

The excavation revealed 10 or 11 strata dating from the late 3rd millennium BC to around 589 BC. The site is of particular importance for the archeology of Israel, since the ceramics in the individual layers were observed particularly well and published quickly. This pottery corpus has long been considered the standard for archeology in the region.

"The strict separation of earth layers, or archaeological sediments, also allowed the strict separation of ceramic assemblages".^[2]

Gustaf Dalman examined the ruin in the early 20th-century and described what he saw there as installations used in the production of olive oil, a view later corroborated by Israeli archaeologist David Eitam.^[3]

The site has "a town plan characteristic of the Kingdom of Judah that is also known from other sites" including, Beit Shemesh, Tell en-Nasbeh, Khirbet Qeiyafa and Beersheba.

"A casemate wall was built at all of these sites and the city’s houses next to it incorporated the casemates as one of the dwelling’s rooms. This model is not known from any Canaanite, Philistine or Kingdom of Israel site."^[4]

Albright identified the ruin with the biblical city Dvir (Debir), or Kiryat Sefer by another name.^[5] He hoped to find an ancient archive there. This identification is not currently accepted by the archaeological community. Khirbet Rabud is seen as the more likely location.^[6]