Tell Beit Mirsim
Tell Beit Mirsim is an archaeological site in Palestine, on the border between the lowlands of Shfela and Mount Hebron. It is located in the eastern region of Lachish about 20 kilometers southwest of Hebron and about 13 kilometers southeast of Lachish.
Excavations
The site was initially excavated for four seasons by William F. Albright.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.
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.
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem led further excavations in 2023 and 2024, uncovering a Four-room house and an olive oil press.
Town plan
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.In the 9th and 8th centuries BCE, it was a town of c. 700 people, according to archaeologist William G. Dever.