A fortress from the Iron Age in the area of ​​Nahal Heroe near Sde Boker. Part of the Iron Negev fortress chain. The site is one of the largest fortress sites in the Negev and inside it is a fortress with a closing wall and many residential buildings next to it, one of which is in the style of a house of four spaces. Excavated and studied by Rudolf Cohen.

The site was discovered in 1975 and surveyed by Zeev Mashal in 1977. An excavation was carried out in 1981 by Ze’ev Mashal before the return of Sinai to Egypt.

The site is located on a peak at an altitude of 390 m above sea level and rises about 140 m above the surrounding plain. The citadel has an excellent view in three directions. Among the most prominent points are the oasis of Kadesh Barnea (Kudirat) and the small oasis of Kusima. The shape of the fortress was varied because they adapted to the topography of the top of the hill to maximize the defensive array and the field of vision. The retaining wall usually surrounded the entire summit and the outer enclosing wall was built right at the edge of the summit on the cliff, so that it directly overlooks the slope. If the summit was oval, so was the wall, as in the fortress of Ein Kadis and elsewhere.

The fortress and the village of Cosima are at the intersection of two main ancient roads: Derech Shur and Derech Gaza, and near them are four nearby water springs: the two smaller springs in Cosima and Ein Movila and the largest springs in Cadiz and Kudirat.

In terms of typology, no tools were found at the site that might imply a date earlier than Iron Age 1. The exact construction date could be anywhere between the end of the 11th century and the middle of the 10th century. Zeev Herzog suggests a date of the 11th century, and Finkelstein extends the construction to the end of the 11th century and the beginning of the 10th century. This means that the elliptical forts were built in the 11th century, with the smaller forts and settlements coming slightly later and this means that they are dated by these two researchers to pre-United Kingdom times. The main finds were pottery. Similar to other Negev sites, the pottery was of two types: made of stones typical of the Iron Age and hand-made vessels of the “Negev ware” type.

Meshel, Z. (1994). The” Aharoni Fortress” near Quseima and the” Israelite Fortresses” in the Negev. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 294(1), 39-67.