It was first identified in modern literature in 1841 by Edward Robinson in his Biblical Researches in Palestine, on account of the similarity of the Arabic place name, Tell 'Arad, with the Harad in the Book of Joshua.

In general Tel Arad lies in a drier region where frequencies of human activity depended upon oscillations toward wetter climate conditions.

[10] With the Collapse of the Late Bronze Age, the Fall of the Egyptian New Kingdom during the 20th Dynasty saw its control over polities in the Southern Levant decline.

Stratum XII: The site was resettled from the 11th century BCE onwards,[11] initially as an unwalled area defined as an official or sacred domain was established on the upper hill, and then later as a garrison-town or citadel.

The temple at Arad was uncovered by archaeologist Yohanan Aharoni in 1962 who spent the rest of his life investigating it, dying there in the mid-1970s.

Unidentified dark material preserved on their upper surfaces was submitted for organic residue analysis and THC, CBD, and CBN (which derive from cannabis) were detected on the smaller altar.

The upper and lower areas of Tel Arad were excavated during 18 seasons by Ruth Amiran and Yohanan Aharoni between 1962 and 1984.