ABSTRACT
The impressive mound of ancient Lachish (modern Tell ed-Duweir; see Figure 57) is located in the foothills of Judah 30 miles southwest of Jerusalem and 15 miles west of Hebron. Before the 1930s the city was generally identified with Tell el-Hesi, a site in the coastal plain several miles northwest of Gaza. In 1929, W. F. Albright proposed the current identification. Albright’s suggestion was dramatically confirmed in 1935 by the discovery of the “Lachish Letters” by James L. Starkey (1895-1938). Further confirmation of the correct location for Lachish comes from Eusebius, a fourth-century historian, who, in his Onomasticon, located Lachish seven Roman miles from Eleutheropolis (identified today with modern Beth-Govrim). Tell ed-Duweir is an imposing mound some 30 acres in size at its base narrowing to around
the time of the Judaean monarchy (Iron Age II-c.1000-587 BCE).
