Tel Beer-sheba, the site of the ancient city, is located on a hill overlooking the Wadi Beer-sheba about two and a half miles east of the modern city of Beersheba. The site was excavated from 1969 to 1976 CE by the Tel Aviv University Institute of Archaeology, directed by Prof. A considerable part of the site was dug down to bedrock in order to find the earliest settlements at Beer-sheba.

Beersheva lies approximately 90 kilometers south of modern Tel Aviv and 100 kilometers north of the Negev’s southern extremities. Its geographic positioning at the northern margin of the desert made it a crossroads between the Mediterranean coastal plain, the central highlands, and the arid southern territories. The city’s environment is characterized by semi-arid conditions, with winter rainfall supporting limited agriculture and summer temperatures conducive to pastoralist economies. In antiquity, the area’s significance arose from its access to groundwater and its role as a transit point for caravans and armies. Today, Beersheva functions as the administrative and cultural capital of the Negev, with urban expansion, universities, and modern infrastructure built atop and alongside ancient sites.

circa 10,000 BCE- Present

Neolithic Period
There is limited direct evidence of permanent Neolithic (circa 10,000–4500 BCE) settlement at Beersheva, though the broader Negev region was occupied by mobile pastoralists and early agriculturalists during this period. Archaeological surveys in surrounding wadis indicate seasonal encampments, lithic tools, and evidence of early herding practices. These groups likely exploited Beersheva’s natural wells and springs as watering points during migrations across the arid landscape.

Chalcolithic Period
During the Chalcolithic (circa 4500–3300 BCE), the region saw intermittent occupation marked by the introduction of copper tools and more complex ceramics. Excavations in the southern Negev suggest small, dispersed communities, possibly engaged in limited pastoralism and localized trade. Beersheva’s wells may have been used by these populations, although definitive evidence of a permanent settlement has not been firmly established.

Bronze Age
The Early and Middle Bronze Age (circa 3300–1200 BCE) witness the growth of urban centers in the southern Levant, though Beersheva itself appears as a minor site. Inscriptions and references in later texts suggest that the location functioned as part of the network of southern trade and pastoral routes, with wells providing critical resources for caravans. During the Late Bronze Age, Egyptian influence extended into the Negev, with Beersheva positioned along routes linking the Egyptian-controlled southern Levant to the central highlands.

Iron Age
Beersheva emerges prominently in the Iron Age (circa 1200–586 BCE) as a fortified site associated with the Kingdom of Judah. Archaeological excavations reveal a series of monumental gates, city walls, and domestic structures dating to the 10th–8th centuries BCE. These findings suggest that Beersheva functioned as a regional administrative and agricultural center, controlling access to water sources and trade routes through the Negev. The biblical narratives recount Abraham, Isaac, and other patriarchs making covenants at the “well of Beersheva”, linking the city to religious and cultural memory.

Persian and Hellenistic Periods
Evidence for Beersheva during the Persian period is sparse, though the city likely remained a small administrative or pastoral center. During the Hellenistic period, the surrounding Negev saw limited urban development, with Beersheva maintaining a modest settlement pattern. The region may have been incorporated into larger territorial divisions under Seleucid administration, though no substantial monumental architecture from this period has been identified.

Roman Period
Beersheva remained peripheral during the Roman era (circa 31 BCE–324 CE), overshadowed by larger cities such as Gaza, Ashkelon, and Jerusalem. The city and its wells likely served local agricultural communities and travelers along trade routes crossing the Negev. Archaeological evidence indicates continued habitation, though on a relatively small scale. The Roman period saw the introduction of new ceramic forms, coins, and infrastructural elements such as roads facilitating trade and communication.

Byzantine Period
During the Byzantine empire period (circa 324–638 CE), Beersheva experienced limited growth. While larger Negev towns like Avdat and Shivta developed extensive architectural complexes, Beersheva’s role remained focused on pastoral and agricultural activities. Byzantine artifacts, including ceramics and small-scale structures, attest to the continuity of settlement and the integration of the area into broader trade and ecclesiastical networks.

Early Islamic and Medieval Periods
Following the Arab conquests of the 7th century CE (circa 638–1517 CE), Beersheva continued as a minor settlement, with its wells sustaining local populations and caravans traversing the desert. During the Ottoman period, Beersheva evolved into a regional administrative center, eventually being formally established as a town in the late 19th century. Its strategic position at the desert edge made it vital for controlling the Negev’s resources and trade.

Modern Period
In the late 19th century (19th–21st centuries CE), the Ottoman administration formally recognized Beersheva as a regional hub. The city developed around the historic wells, with administrative offices, markets, and military outposts. During the British Mandate (1917–1948 CE), Beersheva served as a regional center for governance and transportation. Following Israel’s independence in 1948 CE, the city became a focal point during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Extensive urbanization during the late 20th and early 21st centuries transformed Beersheva into the administrative, educational, and cultural capital of the Negev, blending its ancient heritage with modern infrastructure and urban planning.

circa 1000 BCE

City-gate
The gate of Beersheba was constructed with two rooms flanking the passageway. Benches were discovered along the walls of one of the rooms. All the city's streets intersected at the gate, which served in the defense of the city and as a meeting place and the seat of the judges.

The gate (illustration) of Tel Beer-sheba is adjacent to a water well. Beer-sheba is the site of two significant wells: Abraham's well at Beer-sheba was seized by Abimelech's men (Genesis 21:25), and Isaac's servants dug a well at Beer-sheba also (Genesis 26:25). This gate was a secondary protection, in addition to the main inner gate. It was part of the stratum 4/5 city, but later dismantled.

circa 1000 BCE

Four Room House
The typical Israelite four-room house in the Iron Age I & II Periods (1200-586 BCE) consisted of three elongated spaces running parallel each other and a fourth one perpendicular to the other three. These types of houses can be seen throughout Israel/Palestine, even at Avaris in Egypt centuries before where prototypes were uncovered. A number of dwellings at Beer-Sheva were planned as four-room houses and most had an open space in front of them. A life-size replica of such houses was constructed at the Harvard Semitic Museum, titled The Houses of Ancient Israel.

circa 1000 BCE

Storehouse
The store-house is located near the main gate. The 600 square meters structure is divided into three long halls, divided by two rows of stone pillars. Hundreds of ceramic vessels were found in the ruins of the storehouse. The Bible writes about Hezekiah who built such storehouses, and this may have been one of the storage complexes which he built, (2 chronicles 32:27-29). The fragments of the four-horned altar were also found incorporated in the walls of the store house.

circa 1000 BCE

Horned Altar
One of the most significant discoveries at Tel Beer-sheba is that of a horned animal altar, the first ever unearthed in Israel. Altars with horns at each of their four corners are mentioned frequently in the Bible (Lev. 4:7, 18, 25; Ex. 29:12, 30:2; 38:2; 1 Kings 1:50; 2:28). The altar was not found assembled in situ, but was discovered in secondary use—the stones of the altar had later been incorporated into a wall.

circa 1000 BCE

Some scholars have identified this well with the one mentioned in the Book of Genesis. "The Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath, one of this friends, and Phichol the commander of this army. And Isaac said to them, 'why have you come me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?' But they said, 'we have certainly seen the lord is with you.' So we said, 'let there now be an oath between us, between you and us; and let us make a covenant with you...' It came to pass the same day that Isaac's servants came and told him about the well which they had dug,and said to him, 'we have found water.' So he called it Shebah. Therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day. " -Genesis 26:26-28.