'the ruin-heap') or Khirbet et-Tell (also meaning "heap of ruins")[1] is an archaeological site in the West Bank, commonly identified with the biblical city of Ai.

The earliest settlement phase known at et-Tell, called "Pre-Urban", coincides with the Early Bronze Age I (EBI) and lasted from about 3200 to 3100 BC.

In this period, an unfortified village (about 200 m in diameter, large for the EBI) was settled at the site, with accompanying tombs dug in caves on the northeastern slopes of the hill.

Pottery styles from this period show both indigenous and foreign cultural influences and may signify a mingling of peoples from nearby areas and newcomers immigrating from more distant regions.

Some notable buildings from this time include a great acropolis complex consisting of a temple-palace compound, a market and residential area, and four fortified city gates.

Two distinctive new pottery shapes that first appear in this period suggest that new leadership was imposed on the city; these newcomers may also have been responsible for the destruction of the Urban A/EBI settlement.

Fire trapped under the debris of collapsed roofs smoldered hotly enough to change the chemical composition of the stone, a process called calcination.

Around 2550 BC, there was a temporary disruption at the site, based on damage and rebuilding to the fortifications and major changes in the temple area.

[5] The most recent campaign at et-Tell, the Joint Archaeological Expedition, was undertaken in nine seasons from 1964 to 1970 and overseen by Joseph Callaway and the American Schools of Oriental Research.

In this version of events, Joshua and the invading Israelites are depicted as conquering Ai, killing its residents and burning the city; however, et-Tell was unoccupied at this time according to the established archaeological chronology, and the later Iron Age I village appeared with no evidence of initial conquest.

Ralph K. Hawkins has proposed that Ai was destroyed by Joshua in a scaled-down attack against the Cannanite people who were living in the ruins of the previous Middle Bronze Age city.