ABSTRACT
The ruins of ancient Ashkelon lie on the Mediterranean coast some 35 miles south of modern Tel Aviv and about 18 miles west of Tell Lachish (see Figure 8, p. 38). The name, “Ashkelon,” has been interpreted to mean “to weigh,” from which the Hebrew word, shekel, comes. In antiquity the region was apparently famous for producing a variety of onion, which is preserved in the modern word, scallion, which was derived ultimately from Ascalon.
