At the end of the first week of the dig at Khirbet al-Ra’i we made a trip to Lachish.

See: A Week of Digging

Lachish is just a few kilometers from our dig site so we had lunch at the dig site before heading there. It was good to see the ramp up to the gates again. I have seen this view many times in the past when digging there.

I was interested in seeing the progress made on the welcome center. It looked complete, but it has still not opened.

They have added a lot of new interpretive signs and sculptures at the site. It was real interesting to see the metal sculptures that were added. These are similar to many other sites in Israel.

Here we see an outline of the walls at the top of the siege ramp and the attacking army of Sennacherib.

At the bottom of the siege ramp we see an engine that is starting the climb toward the top.

Here we are at the top of the siege ramp with a closer look at the city walls. Here Jimmy is demonstrating proper technique for shooting an arrow at the enemy.

Here is an image of a family with a loaded cart. There was no sign, so I am really not sure what it is depicting. Perhaps it is a farm family bringing their goods into the city to sell.

Lined up at the base of the palace on top of the site is a row of chairs or thrones. These depict the Kings of Judah. Can you guess the significance of the different heights of the chair backs?

The taller the back of the chair, the longer the reign of the king.

Steven