New Studies in the Archaeology of Jerusalem *7 Tell el-Far’ah (South) is located in south-west Israel and is the last tell site on the route from the Mediterranean southwards into the desert of the Negev (Fig. 1). The site lies 24 kilometers southeast of Gaza and 30 kilometers west of Beersheba, on a loess cliff above the banks of The Persian and Hellenistic Periods in the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Excavations at Tell el-Far’ah (South), 1998-2002 Gunnar Lehmann Ben-Gurion University of the Negev the Nahal Besor (Wadi Ghazze) (map reference: New Israel Grid 1507.5770). The site is to be distinguished from Tell el-Far’ah (North), ancient Tirza near Nablus (ancient Shechem). Over the millennia Tell el-Far’ah (South) has been exposed to erosion, and the preserved ancient 1 Map