Hosted by Brent Nagtegaal

Let the Stones Speak

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Aired: July 2, 2025 • 18 minutes

Khirbet el-Maqatir: Evidence of Biblical Ai

The biblical city of Ai was one of three cities that met a fiery demise when the Israelites conquered the Promised Land: “So Joshua burnt Ai, and made it a heap …” (Joshua 8:28). Over the years, archaeologists have proposed a few sites as being biblical Ai. One such site is Khirbet al-Maqatir. Al-Maqatir was excavated by the Associates for Biblical Research for 14 seasons. This small site conforms with a number of key parameters for Joshua’s Ai. In today’s interview, which was recorded in May, Let the Stones Speak co-host Christopher Eames speaks with Abigail Van Huss, one of the site’s excavators, about the history of the site and its identification as Ai.