Garo Nalbandian

Nestled today within modern neighborhoods in western Jerusalem, the mound above and 19 others were once west of the city’s populated areas. The mounds, called tumuli, were clearly manmade but their purpose has eluded excavators for over a century. The mound shown here was excavated by the great American scholar William F. Albright; the gash his team left on the mound gives it its humorous nickname: “Albright’s behind.” Archaeologist Gabriel Barkay, in the accompanying article, uses Biblical passages and comparisons with similar structures elsewhere in the Mediterranean world to identify these mysterious mounds at last.