Adullam, Archaeological site in the Shephelah, Israel

Adullam is a hilltop ruin at Khurbet esh-Sheikh Madhkur, 434 m above sea level overlooking the Elah valley, straddling the Green Line. Its flat summit holds rock-cut cisterns, scattered potsherds from the Canaanite and Israelite eras, ruined stone structures and a Muslim shrine, Wely Sheikh Madkour, with olive groves in stone-walled enclosures. A circular stone disc with a rectangular recess and a deeper central hole lies on the ground.

Adullam appears among the thirty-six Canaanite royal cities smitten by Joshua and the Israelites, then fell to the tribe of Judah within the Shephelah lowland cities. A.F. Rainey identified Kh. esh-Sheikh Madhkur as a Late Bronze Age site, and late Chalcolithic potsherds were collected on the surface. Clermont-Ganneau recognised nearby 'Aid el-Miyeh as biblical Adullam in 1871; the hilltop was surveyed and partly excavated in 2015.

The name Adullam appears in religious writings as the refuge where David fled, and visitors today still come to trace this biblical connection. The site draws hikers and pilgrims alike who want to follow the footsteps of the old narratives.

The hilltop ruin of Kh. esh-Sheikh Madkur stands at 434 m above sea level, about 3 km south of moshav Neve Michael, with the lower ruin of 'Eid el-Miah in the valley below. The site is maintained by the Jewish National Fund; it was surveyed archaeologically and partially excavated in 2015. Ground is rough and stony, with cisterns cut into the rock underfoot.

The hilltop ruin is named after Madkour, a son of Sultan Beder, and a shrine (wely) stands there, formerly called Wely Madkour by local inhabitants. The site straddles the Green Line between Israel and the West Bank, with its suburban ruin, 'Eid el-Miye, lying directly below. The Jewish National Fund maintains the site.