Few places compress the layered history of the Jerusalem hills as tightly as Nebi Samwil. The hilltop commands one of the widest horizons in the region — on clear days the Old City, the Judean hills and the coastal plain are all visible from the roof. Beneath the summit lies the tomb venerated for centuries as that of the prophet Samuel, a focus of Jewish pilgrimage and of Muslim devotion alike. Above it stands a fortified church built in the Crusader period, later converted into a mosque and altered again over the centuries, its massive stonework and minaret visible for miles. Archaeological excavation around the building has exposed foundations, cisterns, rock-cut installations and traces of the settlements that occupied the ridge in successive eras. The result is a rare single-location subject: a strategic summit, a contested sanctuary, an active place of prayer and an open excavation, all within a few hundred metres. Filmed in 4K with aerial coverage, the programme uses the hilltop's exceptional sightlines to explain how a landscape of ridges shaped the history of Jerusalem.
