Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth Aven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, Go up and spy out the land. The men went up and spied out Ai.
(3) Albright said that the capture of Ai was probably the capture of Bethel, the principal fortification of which was at Ai, on the ancient ruins mentioned in the above paragraph.  His reason for this allegation was that there is no mention of the capture of Bethel in Joshua, although the architectural evidence shows that Bethel fell about the same time of the fall of other cities that fell in Israel's conquest of Canaan.