During R. W. Hamilton’s excavations in 1932–1933, Stratum III was found to lie “between two destruction layers: a thick upper one, below Stratum II, and a lower one, above part of Stratum IVB.” Hamilton also observed that Stratum III contained “more than a single phase of construction” (Balensi, Herrera, and Artzy in Stern et al., 1993 v.1). On the basis of the original field records and finds, Herrera (1983) subdivided Stratum III into two phases: IIIA (older) and IIIB (younger). The destruction that terminated Stratum IIIB was re-dated to no “earlier than the latter half of the eighth century BCE” (Balensi, Herrera, and Artzy in Stern et al., 1993 v.1). This firm terminus post quem was established on the basis of ceramic assemblages that found their “best parallels at Israelite, Phoenician, and Cypriot sites, mainly in the second half of the eighth century BCE (Tell el Farʿah VIID, Hazor VI–V, Samaria V–VI, and Tell Keisan 5, among other sites).” At the same time, the “possibility of even later finds, as suggested by a seventh-century Judean cooking pot,” leaves open the prospect that the end of Stratum IIIB could be somewhat later. Balensi, Herrera, and Artzy dated Stratum IIIB, prior to its destruction, to the period of the Divided Monarchy and, following Herrera, proposed a narrow destruction window of approximately 750–725 BCE. However, Balensi (1985b:66–69) cautioned that Stratum III lacks full stratigraphic homogeneity, a factor that complicates precise chronological resolution. The destruction that sealed Stratum IIIB was described by Balensi et al. (1985a:95) as a burnt layer overlying Stratum III and followed by a period of abandonment. Earlier, Hamilton (1935:6) had characterized the destruction horizon as “ashes and mixed debris which, though tenuous or non-existent at the edges [of the tell], were thick and well defined at the centre of the site.” The cause of this conflagration remains uncertain. It may reflect human agency, though a natural trigger cannot be excluded on present evidence.