Aside from Jerusalem, Tel Lachish was the second most important city in Israel until it’s final destruction in 586 BCE. There at over 25 references to the ancient city both in the Bible as well as other ancient sources. One such source comes from the reliefs at the palace of Sennacherib, the Neo-Assyrian king that conquered the city in 701BCE. Archaeological research at this site began in the 1930s after some debate regarding the site’s location. The evidence from the site suggests that it was occupied from the Pottery Neolithic (5500–4500 BCE) period to the Persian and Hellenistic periods (538–37 BCE).
The site was originally a large Canaanite city in the 13th-12th centuries BCE. There is a shrine at the Northwest corner of the site from this period. Following this period, the site was then controlled by the Egyptians. Archaeological research at the site has led to the discovery of another temple in the Egyptian style typical of this period. The city was then probably destroyed by the Philistines, who came to reside in the city no earlier than 1130 BCE. Some scholars dispute this and think that the the date was closer to 1175-1160 BCE. After it’s destruction in around 1130 BCE, it was abandoned for nearly two centuries until it was then settled by the Israelites in the 10th-9th centuries BCE. This is the period that David and Solomon would have ruled. Unfortunately, there is little information that archeologists have found for this period with the exception that the city was unfortified during this time. Following this, the city was destroyed once again in 925 BCE by the Egyptians, who were under the command of Pharaoh Sheshonq. The city was refortified at some point between 908-846 BCE under the rule of either king Asa or king Jehoshaphat. Under Hezekiah’s rule, the land of Judah had undergone an increase in prosperity. As a result, the city of Lachish prospered as well. This can also be seen in the archaeological evidence from this period.
The city was destroyed once again in 701 BCE by the forces of the Neo-Assyrian king Sennacherib, who then made the city his headquarters when he was at war with the Judaeans. There is a single sentence in the Bible that references this event, thought the fall of Lachish meant a lot more to Sennacherib. The Neo-Assyrian king had a relief of his victory made and set up in his royal palace in Nineveh. The relief shows many similarities with the archaeological evidence from the site, such as the depiction of siege engines on the relief matching those that were found.
The forces of Sennacherib destroyed both the palace-fort as well as the city-gate complex. There was some debate among scholars as to the destruction of the city-gate complex. Ultimately, the dating of its. Destruction can be separated into two stages. The first of these was the destruction wrought by Sennacherib in 701 BCE, as mentioned before. The second stage can be divided into two phases: 597 BCE and 586 BCE. Nebuchadnezzar assaulted the city at both of these times.
Furthermore, some of the items found at Tel Lachish were shards of pottery with Hebrew letters. These potshards, known as ostraca, were military correspondences that date from the time of king Zedekiah. One of these ostraca refers to “the prophet,” which makes one think of Jeremiah 34:6-7 in which the author mentions the attempts to hold out against Nebuchadnezzar by the city of Lachish.
Overall, archaeological evidence at this site has revealed much about the various civilizations that came to inhabit the city. The site was only confirmed to be Lachish when the discovery of Sennacherib’s palace was made as well as the discovery of the relief that commemorated the Assyrian victory in 701 BCE.