Sites with the Grand Old Man of Syro-Palestinian Archaeology

This week I visited several sites, including tell es Safi (biblical Gath) and tell Qeiyafa with the "grand old man" of biblical archaeology, Bill Dever. Both  are very important sites along the Judean/Philistine border. We also stopped by a couple of other"cool" places along the way. Bill gave a running monologue all along the trip about his experiences and about the general geography of the area. I took lots of notes.

2 Kings 12:17 states that Hazael, king of Syria went up against Gath, fought against it, and took it. In several places at Tell es Safi  there is clear evidence of a ninth century B.C. destruction layer like the one in this picture. There's no clear evidence who destroyed this city from the archaeological evidence alone, but the pieces seem to fit. On the 9th century floor were literally hundreds of pottery vessels like the one above. Last summer they found a horned altar there.  I'll post a link below.

Haaretz article on the Horned Altar

Qeiyafa is an important site, especially in light of the chronology debates of the last 20 years. It is a centralized border outpost that joins a string of similar outposts along the Judean/Philistine border. Here is the 4 chambered city gate and the Valley of Elah (of David and Goliath fame) below.