 From its strategic vantage point overlooking the narrow northern end of the fertile Huleh Valley, the site commands roads leading north to the Lebanese Beq'a, northeast to inland Syria (Damascus) and Mesopotamia, and west to the Lebanese/Phoenician coast.The tell is identified with Abel Beth-Maacah mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and consists of an upper mound in the north and a larger lower mound in the south, with a moderately high saddle between them.The location of the town in such a strategic spot points to it having played a major role in the interaction between the various national groups and political powers in the Bronze Age (Canaanites, Hurrians/Mitannians, Egyptians, and Hittites) and the Iron Age (Israelites, Arameans and Phoenicians).