24 The Geopolitical Situation in the Elah Valley The hundreds of pottery vessels, dozens of metal tools and other items that were discovered on the floors of Khirbet Qeiyafa’s structures show that the site was destroyed abruptly ; had it been abandoned in an orderly fashion the inhabitants would have taken their belongings with them, especially the valuable ones . Two questions present themselves here : How long did Khirbet Qeiyafa exist, and who destroyed it . Because the various structures we excavated did not exhibit the raising of floors or the building of walls and installations atop one another, as would be common in a location inhabited for several generations, we surmise that Khirbet Qeiyafa existed for only a few decades and was destroyed shortly after it was built . The exposed bedrock throughout the center of the site is noteworthy in this respect . It reveals that no houses or other structures were built in the center of Khirbet Qeiyafa, an area that, if the city had existe...
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