ABSTRACT
Archaeological Data For more than sixty years now, researchers looking for the biblical Bethel have generally identied it as being Tell Beitin.1 Recently, other suggestions have been proposed. According to David Livingston, it could be situated some 3 km to the south of Tell Beitin-El-Bireh.2 The excavations in Tell Beitin provided only fragmentary information about Bethel’s supposed position.3 It proved impossible to undertake extensive work at Tell Beitin in view of the settlements on the tell itself. In his commentary on the reports of these excavations, William G. Dever was less than attering about their merits: the numerous publications contain more speculation and sheer guesswork than they do description of factual archaeological material.4 Nevertheless, some description of the settlement on the tell, however supercial, can be attempted.
