Tel Sheva (Hebrew: תל שבע) or Tel Be'er Sheva (Hebrew: תל באר שבע), also known as Tell es-Seba (تل السبع), is an archaeological site in the Southern District of Israel, believed to be the site of the ancient biblical town of Beer-sheba. The site lies east of modern Beersheba and west of the Bedouin town of Tel Sheva. Tel Sheva has been preserved and made accessible to visitors in the Tel Be'er Sheva National Park (Hebrew: גן לאומי תל באר שבע).

The Hebrew name of Beersheba is derived from be'er, meaning a 'well', and sheva, meaning 'oath' or 'seven'.

Beer-sheba is mentioned 33 times in the Hebrew Bible. It is often used when describing the borders of the Land of Israel: "From Dan to Beersheba".

It was the site of many patriarchal narratives: Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba (Genesis 22:19), Abraham and Abimelech entered a covenant at Beer-sheba (Genesis 21:32), and Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beer-sheba (Genesis 21:33). The Lord spoke to both Isaac and Jacob, Abraham's son and grandson respectively, at Beer-sheba (Genesis 26:23; 46:1).

Two biblical wells were located in Beer-sheba: Abraham's well, seized by Abimelech's men (Genesis 21:25), and the well dug by Isaac's servants (Genesis 26:25).

Tel Beer-sheba, the site of the Iron Age city, is located on a hill overlooking the Wadi Beer-sheba about two and a half miles east of the modern city of Beersheba. The site was excavated from 1969 to 1976 by the Tel Aviv University Institute of Archaeology, directed by Prof. Yohanan Aharoni, except for the last season which was led by Prof. Ze'ev Herzog. Most of the dig was devoted to uncovering the large fortified Israelite city. The biblical narrative places the city in the time of the United Monarchy of King David, whose reign is dated by biblical scholars to around 1000 BCE, and later, to the Kingdom of Judah (980–701 BCE). During the last three seasons of excavation (1974–1976), an effort was made to go below Beer-sheba of Iron Age II to find earlier occupation. A considerable part of the site was dug down to bedrock in order to find the earliest settlements at Beer-sheba. This effort revealed four earlier occupational strata (Strata VI through IX). Excavations were renewed by Prof Herzog between 1993 and 1995 in order to complete the uncovering of the town's water system.

The earliest occupation at Beer-sheba during Iron Age I (Stratum IX) was represented only by seven large pits about 22 to 25 feet in diameter. Archaeologists believe that the entire settlement of this stratum covered about 2,990 sq. yards, approximately the area of half of a football field. It likely contained about 20 dwelling pits and 10 granaries and would have housed from 100 to 140 people. Stratum IX was abandoned then reused, new structures being added to the old. In Stratum VIII, which dates to the 11th century B.C.E., archaeologists found houses for the first time. Like Stratum IX, Stratum VIII was abandoned rather than destroyed. The pottery suggests that the same people who lived in Stratum VIII built Stratum VII at the end of the 11th century B.C.E., which comprised five domestic units in a possibly enclosed settlement.

The settlement of Beer-sheba was probably first fortified during the Iron IIA. Some archaeologists believe that Beer-sheba, which was on the southern border of the fledgling Israelite kingdom, was fortified by King Saul at the end of the 11th century BCE during wars against the Amalekites based upon a historical reading of the biblical account. However, on the basis of interregional comparisons and recent radiocarbon evidence, this settlement phase probably started in the mid-10th century and ended in the late 9th century BCE.