Tel Beer Sheva National Park

Main points of in​terest

• The altar: a stone altar used for making sacrifices. The altar was found during the excavation, in pieces, its stones incorporated in the walls of the storehouse. Today, the original altar (with its four horns) is on display in the Israel Museum, and a reconstruction stands at the entrance to the national park. The altar was apparently taken apart at a time of religious reform. According to the finds, archaeologists attribute dismantling the altar to the time of Hizkiyah, king of Judah at the end of the 8th century BCE.
• The well: one of the deepest in Israel (69 m), going down to the level of the groundwater. The well was dug outside but close to the city gate.
  The city gates: the outer gate stands next to the well, and behind it is the main gate. Two tall towers guarded the main gate. The towers have not been preserved, but the remains of the first floor of a watchtower can be seen, with stone benches inside.
• The “Governor’s Palace”: a prominent building with an entrance corridor, paved ceremonial halls, residential units, a kitchen and a storeroom.
• The storehouse: one of the largest buildings in the city, with three storerooms, on an area of 600 m². The storerooms are divided into long halls, which were found to contain hundreds of pottery vessels.
• The water system: a large and impressive water system, incorporated in the fortifications of the city. The water system is in three parts: a 20 m deep stone-faced shaft, with a flight of stairs set into its wall; a 700 m³ reservoir hewn in the chalk rock; and a feeder channel carrying the floodwaters from Hebron Stream to the reservoir. The water system fell out of use at the end of the Hellenistic period, apparently because of an earthquake that blocked the channel.
  The walls of the reservoir are straight. They were built to serve as support walls for the ceiling after the reservoir was quarried out, and the plaster and the fingerprints of the plasterers can still be seen.