Egypt, Canaan and Israel in Ancient Times
Donald Redford -- Princeton University (1992)

Winner of the 1993 Best Scholarly Book in Archaeology
Award of the Biblical Archaeological Society

Pre-History and Archaeology Glossary

Excerpts and Definitions and Addendums:

... the only major political power in the Negev (Desert) in the Early Bronze Age. Arad is situated on a saddle-shaped hill in the gently rolling terrain of the eastern Negev about thirty kilometers east of Beer-Sheba. Although there is no spring in the vicinity, the town planners with the aid of reservoirs skillfully sited the settlement so as to capture the natural runoff. The EB II town occupied about nine hectares and was surrounded by a stone wall 2.4 meters in thickness and 1170 meters in circumference. At intervals of 20 to 25 meters semicircular towers projected from the outer face of the wall. The town had been planned in a regular fashion by people aware of the importance of defensive considerations and the need for organized town life. Houses were grouped into insulae around the outer perimeter, while public buildings were grouped in the center. Within a day's march of Arad were situated at least twenty satellite villages, suggesting a fairly extensive political organization; and the town's effective control extended far to the south into the eastern Sinai. That in fact trade or an exchange of goods in some form had taken place between Egypt and Arad prior to the latter's destruction at the hands of an unknown enemy is provided by the presence of Egyptian ceramics and artifacts throughout all levels of occupation

The History of the Ancient Near East Electronic Compendium