Khirbet Qeiyafa

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Khirbet Qeiyafa (Arabic: خِرْبَة قِيَافَة, romanized: Khirbat Qiyāfa), also known as Elah Fortress and in Hebrew as Horbat Qayafa (Hebrew: חוֹרְבָת קַייָאפַה), is the site of an ancient fortress city overlooking the Valley of Elah and dated to the first half of the 10th century BCE. The ruins of the fortress were uncovered in 2007, near the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh, 30 km (20 mi) from Jerusalem. It covers nearly 2.3 ha (6 acres) and is encircled by a 700-meter-long (2,300 ft) city wall constructed of field stones, some weighing up to eight tons. Excavations at site continued in subsequent years. The two excavators, Yosef Garfinkel and Saar Ganor, have identified the site with Sha'arayim ("Two Gates"), because of the two gates unique to the site. This is based on their conclusions that the site dates to the early Iron IIA, ca. 1025–975 BCE, a range which includes the biblical date for the biblical Kingdom of David. Others suggest it might represent either a North Israelite, Philistine...

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