Tel Mikne, near the traditional border between Philistia and Judah, was identified as the biblical Philistine city of Ekron. The square tel (mound) rises only a few meters above the fertile plain and consists of a small upper tel and a large lower one to the south.

Major excavations were conducted at Tel Mikne between 1981 and 1996, providing much information about the history and culture of Philistine Ekron during the 600 years of its existence (from the 12th to the end of the 7th century BCE), and proof of the identification as Ekron was found in an inscription uncovered in its temple complex.

In the second millennium BCE, Tel Mikne was a large Canaanite city, at first covering all parts of the tel, but later confined to a settlement on the acropolis, where a public building destroyed by conflagration in the 13th century BCE was uncovered. Many of its rooms were used as granaries, as evidenced by jars containing grain and carbonized foodstuffs; one jar contained figs threaded on a string, reminiscent of the biblical lump of dried figs. (1 Samuel 30:12)

Above the ruins of this Canaanite settlement, the 12th century BCE Philistine city was discovered. It was a large, well planned and fortified city which existed for 200 years and covered the entire surface of the tel.

Of particular interest is a large, well constructed building which covers 240 sq. m. Its walls are broad, designed to support a second story and its wide, elaborate entrance leads to a large hall, partly covered with a roof supported on a row of columns. In the floor of the hall is a circular hearth paved with pebbles, as is typical in Mycenean buildings; other unusual architectural features are paved benches and podiums. Among the finds are three small bronze wheels with eight spokes. Such wheels are known to have served as wheels for portable cultic stands in the Aegean region during this period and it is therefore assumed that this building served cultic functions.

According to the Bible, Ekron was assigned to the Tribe of Judah (Jos. 15:45-46; Judges 1:18) and later, to the Tribe of Dan. (Jos. 19:43) But archeological evidence indicates a flourishing Philistine city during the 12th and 11th centuries BCE. When the Ark of the Covenant fell into Philistine hands, they displayed it in the Temple of Dagon in Ashdod and from there took it to Ekron; (1 Samuel 5:10) and after David defeated Goliath in the Elah Valley on the Philistine border with Judah, the Israelites pursued the Philistines to the gates of Ekron. (1 Samuel 17:52)

Ekron was probably destroyed by King David during his campaign against Philistia at the beginning of the 10th century BCE and over the next 300 years, Philistine Ekron was again reduced to the acropolis area of the tel. The prophet Amos prophesied its destruction in the 8th century BCE. (Amos 1:8) In 712 BCE Sargon II, King of Assyria conquered Ekron and immortalized the siege of the city in reliefs on the walls of his palace in Khorsabad.

During the 7th century BCE, Ekron was once more an important city-state and some of its kings are mentioned in the annals of the Neo-Assyrian kings. The city enjoyed economic prosperity under Assyrian rule, evidence of which is the expansion of the lower city and a new quarter to the north. At its peak it covered an area of some 85 acres and was thus one of the largest cities of biblical times. This city was carefully planned and divided into residential quarters, with a separate quarter for the rulers and the elite, and industrial and trade areas.

The economic mainstay was olive oil production and trade. The industrial buildings were built in a dense belt along the inner perimeter of the city walls. A survey has revealed some 115 oil installations, of which only a few have been excavated. The oil factory buildings consist of three rooms and are of a more or less uniform plan: one room for crushing and pressing olives, one for oil separation and storage and a front room facing the street, used for textile production. The factories had a multiple function four months a year for olive oil production and eight months a year for making textiles.

The inscription, engraved on a rectangular stone measuring 60 x 39 x 26 cm., was found in the cella, the holy of holiest, of the sanctuary. It reads:

The inscription is unique because it contains the name of a biblical city and five of its rulers, two of whom are mentioned as kings in texts other than the Bible. It is the only such inscription found in situ in a securely defined, datable archeological context. The title "ruler of Ekron" is proof of the identification of Tel Mikne with biblical Ekron.