Tel ‘Aroer is located on the banks of the ‘Aroer stream, in the southernmost part of the Beer Sheva-Arad Valley, within the northern Negev Desert.  The site revealed two main occupation phases dated to the Iron Age IIb–c and the Roman period. Tel ‘Aroer is one of the most important Iron Age II sites in the biblical Negev, situated in a strategic location on the trade route from southern Arabia to the Mediterranean coast. During the Roman period, the site consisted of a fort and a village and was repeatedly destroyed during the Great Revolt of 68 CE and the Bar Kochba Revolt in 135 CE.

Relevant publications:
Rosenberg, D. 2011. Stone implements of ‘Aroerʼs desert community – A descriptive account. In: Thareani-Sussely, Y. (ed.). Tel ‘Aroer: An Iron Age II Caravan II and Herodian Fort in the Negev, pp. 230–239. Annual of the Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology. Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion. Jerusalem.