Rehovot-in-the-Negev

Rehovot-in-the-Negev (English), from Rehovot ba-Negev (modern Hebrew name), derived from Khirbet Ruheibeh (Arabic, 'Ruheibeh Ruins'), is an archaeological site in the Wadi er-Ruheibeh area of the central Negev in Israel, containing the remains of an ancient town. Apparently founded in the first century CE by the Nabateans, it was a thriving city by the fifth century during the Byzantine period, when it grew to more than 10,000 inhabitants, thanks to its being on the Arabian incense trade route. By population, Rehovot-in-the-Negev was the second largest of the Byzantine-period "Negev towns". The city was repeatedly hit by earthquakes, the major 7th-century seismic event which destroyed Avdat also leading to the abandonment of this city.

Archaeological site data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).