Dr. Bryant Wood of the Associates for Biblical Research submitted the following report to the Near Eastern Archaeological Society following the excavations of June 1998:

Kh. el-Maqatir (1738 1469) is located 1 km west of Et Tell and 1.5 km. southeast of Beitin. Excavations were initiated in 1995 under the sponsorship of the Associates for Biblical Research and directed by Bryant Wood. The dig is endorsed by the Near East Archaeological Society and supported by a consortium of institutions including Berkshire Institute for Christian Studies, IBEX-Master’s College, Lancaster Bible College, Trinity College and Seminary Albuquerque, and YWAM University of Nations. The purpose of the project is to determine if Kh. el-Maqatir is the Ai of Joshua 7-8.

A Canaanite fortress dating to the 15^th century BC has been located on the southeast slope of the site, as well as a Hasmonean fortress constructed in the second century BC, and several Byzantine structures. Pottery from the Early Bronze, Middle Bronze and Iron Age I periods has also been found, but with no related architecture. The Canaanite fortress was extensively robbed out in later periods.

The first half of the 1998 season was conducted June 15-25, with the second half planned for September 14-24. Significant progress was made toward understanding the layout of the Canaanite fortress and in identifying the site as the Ai of Joshua 7-8. It was determined that large walls north of a 15^th century BC monumental U-shaped structure date to the Hasmonean period. In addition, the southwest wall of the Canaanite fortress was located. This, together with the southeast wall located in 1996, allowed the layout of the fortress to be better defined. Both walls are 2.5 m wide. Wall lines visible on the surface appear to be the west and northwest walls, but this must be verified by further excavation in September. It is now certain that the U-shaped structure excavated in 1996 is the northwest half of the gate of the Canaanite fortress. This was the initial conclusion because of the plan of the structure (2 m wide walls and inside dimensions of 5.2 x 5.2 m), and because of the discovery of two lower gate socket stones and an upper socket stone in the vicinity of the south pier. When very wide walls north of the structure (up to 5 m wide!) were discovered, however, that identification was in doubt. If the wide walls were part of the Canaanite fortress, then the U-shaped structure could not have been a gate since it would have been inside the fortress. Once it was determined that the wide walls were not part of the Canaanite fortress, then it became apparent that the U-shaped structure is what remains of the gate of the Canaanite fortress.

The gate of Ai is mentioned a number of times in Joshua 7-8. It is first mentioned in Joshua 7 in the record of the defeat of the Israelites the first time they attacked the fortress of Ai. Verse 5 says the Canaanites "chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the shevarim and struck them down on the slopes." The root of the Hebrew word shevarim means "to break in pieces," so the shevarim mentioned in Joshua 7:5 may be a stone quarry located 2.5 km southeast of Kh. el-Maqatir. The elevation decreases from 875 m at the gate to 700 m at the quarry. This descent of 175 m in 2.5 km (or, on average, 70 m per km) would have been where the Canaanites "struck them down on the slopes."

When the Israelite forces returned for the second engagement of Ai, Joshua and his army arrived in front of the fortress then set up camp north of Ai (Joshua 8:11). This passage suggests that the gate of Ai was on the north side. The gate at Kh. el-Maqatir is on the north side of the fortress. After the Israelites defeated Ai, Joshua hung the king on a tree. At sunset he ordered the body removed and thrown down at the entrance of the gate. A large pile of stones was then raised over the body (Joshua 8:29). Although no human bones were found in the vicinity of the gate at Kh. el-Maqatir, a large number of stones were present in the northwest chamber, many more than were found in the areas outside the gate. Conversely, about two dozen sling stones were discovered in the areas around the gate chamber, but none inside. This indicates that the gate had been besieged in antiquity.

The area in the vicinity of the gate has been reused and reoccupied in later periods. As a result, it is badly disturbed. The stones of the southeast chamber have all been removed and used for other structures. It appears that the same fate may have befallen the entire northeast wall on either side of the gate since, to date, no trace of it has been found. The foundations of the southeast, southwest, west and northwest walls, however, appear to be largely intact. The area inside the walls found thus far is about 1.7 acres. To the southeast, however, there are additional walls visible on the surface which may be an extension of the fortress. Excavations in this area are planned for September. The fortress of Ai was not large. What impressed the Israelite spies when they saw it was its smallness. They reported back to Joshua, "Not all the people will have to go up against Ai ... for only a few men are there" (Joshua 7:3). In addition, Joshua 10:2 states that Ai was smaller than Gibeon, which was about 10 acres in size. The translation of the Hebrew word ‘ir as "city" in Joshua 8 is misleading. "City" is a modern term that was unknown in the Biblical world. The distinction made in the Old Testament is between a fortified place (‘ir, qereth, qiryah) and unfortified, dependent, towns and villages (benoth, hazerim). Thus, ‘ir denotes a fortified site of any size. The small Canaanite fortress at Kh. el-Maqatir fits the Biblical description of Ai very well.

Nineteenth century explorers reported the existence of a Byzantine church on top of the hill of Kh. el-Maqatir. At that time, there were well-preserved walls and many columns lying about. Today, the wall lines are obscure and only one column fragment remains. In June, architect Leen Ritmeyer investigated the site and ascertained the plan and identified many features. He determined that there are additional structures attached to the church, indicative of a monastery. Nearby is a large grain storage silo from the Byzantine period. Some 230 m southeast of the monastery, just a few meters north of the Canaanite gate, another Byzantine storage silo was excavated by the Associates for Biblical Research in 1997. The silo, plus small amounts of Byzantine pottery within the Canaanite fortress, suggest that this area was cultivated by the residents of the monastery . The Arabic word for monastery is Deir. Deir Dibwan, the name of the town 2 km to the southeast, undoubtedly derives from the monastery at Kh. el-Maqatir. There are no other known monasteries in the vicinity. The meaning of Dibwan remains unknown at the present. Excavation of the monastery complex is planned to begin in September. Relevant to the identification of Kh. el-Maqatir are Edward Robinson’s observations when he visited the church on May 5, 1838. "To this ruin one of the Greek priests at Taiyibeh, who had been delving a little into Biblical history, had chosen to give the name of Ai, and we found the same name among some of the people of that village" (Biblical Researches 2: 126). This is the only known local tradition concerning the location of Ai, and it places Ai at the site of Kh. el-Maqatir. Robinson went on to say, "But there is not the slightest ground for any such hypothesis. There never was anything here but a church." On top of the hill at Kh. el-Maqatir there are indeed no ruins other than the church, as Robinson observed. On the southeast slope of the hill, however, are the remains of a Canaanite fortress and a Hasmonean fortress presently being excavated by the Associates for Biblical Research. Since Robinson did not investigate this area, scholars have been thrown off track from that time to the present.

The name of the site is spelled a number of ways in the literature. It has now been determined, based on the Arabic spelling, that the correct transliteration is Maqatir. Local residents have repeatedly been asked the meaning of the name, but no one seems to know. The root of the word is qtr, with a prefixed m. The meaning of qtr in Hebrew is "make sacrifices smoke," or "send up sacrifices in smoke." There is a similar cognate word in Arabic. The name mqtr thus means "place of sacrificial smoke." Smoke played an important role in the capture of Ai. Joshua commanded the ambush force to set fire to the fortress (Josh. 8:8). After Joshua lured the Canaanites out of the fortress, God instructed Joshua to give the signal to the ambush force by raising his spear. The ambush force then rushed in and set fire to the fortress (Josh. 8:19). When the retreating Israelites saw the smoke from the burning fortress, they turned and attacked the pursuing Canaanites. At the same time, the ambush force came out of the fortress, trapping the Canaanites between the two forces. Joshua kept his spear in the air, "until he had destroyed (herim, offered up to the Lord) all who lived in Ai" (Josh. 8:26). Thus the smoke rising from the burning fortress was the sign that initiated the offering of the people of Ai as a sacrifice to God. Because of this, it is quite possible that the ruined site of Ai became known as "the place of sacrificial smoke," a name that has survived to modern times, but the meaning of which has been forgotten.