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Shivta (Hebrew: שבטה‎), is an ancient city in the Negev Desert of Israel, east of Nitzana. Shivta was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in June 2005.

Long considered a classic Nabataean town on the ancient spice route, archaeologists are now considering the possibility that Shivta was a Byzantine agricultural colony and a way station for pilgrims en route to the Saint Catherine Monastery in Sinai.

Roman ruins from the first century BCE have been unearthed in the southern part of the town, but most of the archaeological findings date to the Byzantine period. Shivta’s water supply was based on surface runoff collected in large reservoirs.

Three Byzantine churches (a main church and two smaller churches), 2 wine-presses, residential areas and administrative buildings have been excavated at Shivta. After the Arab conquest in the 7th century CE, the population and dwindled. It was finally abandoned in the 8th or 9th Century CE.

In 1933-1934, American archaeologist H. Colt (son of the gun manufacturer) conducted a dig at Shivta. The house he lived in bears an inscription in ancient Greek that reads: “With good luck. Colt built (this house) with his own money."

Incense Route – Desert Cities in the Negev is a World Heritage-designated itinerary in the Negev, southern Israel. The site of patrimony was proclaimed of outstanding universal value by UNESCO in 2005.

Four towns located in the Negev Desert are linked directly to the Mediterranean terminus of both the Incense Road and Spice routes. These towns include Avdat, Haluza, Mamshit, and Shivta. Where constructed by the Nabataean an old Arabic tribe, their capital is Petra (world heritage since 1985) in the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan, as well as multiple ancient fortresses and desert agricultural landscapes. As a group, these desert cities demonstrate the significantly lucrative trade in frankincense and myrrh that took place from south Arabia to the Mediterranean. At its height, from the 3rd century BC to the 2nd century AD, the routes included sophisticated cityscapes, irrigation systems, fortresses, and caravanserai. The vestiges of these works are still visible in the present day, and demonstrate the use of the desert for commerce and agriculture.