Tel Beit Mirsim
Tel Beit Mirsim is an archaeological site in the southern Judean Foothills (the Shephelah). Between 1926 and 1932, the reputed Biblical Scholar W.F. Albright excavated the site. Albright assumed Beit Mirsim should be identified with Biblical Dvir. Dvir is mentioned in the Book of Joshua as a Canaanite city of giants (11:21), yet it was conquered and destroyed by Joshua’s army (10:38-39). Joshua 15:15 indicates Divr was once called “Kiryat Sefer” (Hebrew: “City of the Book”).
Albright speculated that this name suggest that Dvir was also a scribal center, so he hoped to trace an archive in the site. Unfortunately, Albright didn’t find any archive, but his revolutionary analysis of layers and pottery typology laid the foundations of Biblical Archaeology. Today, most scholars believe Dvir should be identified elsewhere, at the site of Khirbet Rabud.
Touring Tel Beit Mirsim
Beit Mirsim is close to the pre-1967 border (the Green Line) and can be reached from Lahav via road 358. Off-road vehicles from Lachish and Beit-Lehi can also get it.
A tour to Tel Beit Mirsim can be combined with a guided day tour in the Judean Foothills (the Shephelah).