We started our day today in Arad and ended up by the sea at Ashkelon.

Our first stop of the day was at Tel Arad where we visited the Arad fortress that was built in the 9th to 6th centuries BCE and the older Canaanite city of Arad below it.

We then traveled on to Tel Beer Sheva. Here is a view of the gate area at Beer Sheva from the observation tower. Can you imagine Abraham visiting here?

The name of the city comes from Genesis chapter 21 where Abraham makes a pact with Abimelech.

We also descended into the water system at Beer Sheva. The underground reservoirs are huge and would have been able to hold a large amount of water to last through the dry season.

Our last stop of the day was at Ashkelon. Here we see the Canaanite gate of the city. This Bronze Age gate was the second of four built one on top of another. The gate was of mud brick and also had an arched form.

We were give a personal tour of the site at Ashkelon by our friends Trent and Rebekah who have been digging there for the last several dig seasons.

After working on an archaeological dig for the past two weeks it is interesting to see other sites. I see them in a whole new light now.

We ended the day with a nice 4th of July meal at a restaurant near the Mediterranean. I had a nice hamburger to celebrate the holiday.

Tomorrow we head north and will end up at the Sea of Galilee. We have several stops planned along the way so keep tuned to see where we end up going.

Steven