Figure 1 - uploaded by Yosef Garfinkel
Content may be subject to copyright.
General map of the southern Levant with the location of Lachish and other sites in which Late Bronze Age and Iron Age I temples have been found.
Source publication
During the recent excavations at Tel Lachish a previously unknown Canaanite temple of the 12th century BCE was uncovered in the north-eastern corner of the mound. This article describes its possible place in the urban fabric of the city, the plan of the temple and its parallels, and some of the more special finds that were found in it. Based on the...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... the years Middle and Late Bronze Age temples have been uncovered at a number of sites, but they are quite rare in the archaeological record. In this article we present a new temple uncovered in recent years at Tel Lachish (Figs 1-2). ...
Context 2
... is one of the main points that has fuelled the dispute over its characterization as a temple or a ceremonial palace Bonfil and Zarzecki-Peleg 2007;Zuckerman 2012: 114;2017). It is possible that the addition of side rooms to a temple with 'Syrian' characteristics is a precursor of Iron Age temples like the temple of Motza (Kisilevitz 2015: 151, fig. 1) and the biblical Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem ( Garfinkel and Mumcuoglu 2016: 175-76). One could also compare the NorthEast Temple to the 11th-century Southern Temple of Beth-Shean Stratum V (Mullins 2012: 145, fig. 13; Rowe 1940: pl. X), a temple with a fairly symmetrical plan, a direct entrance and a long central hall with smaller ...
Context 3
... to a temple with 'Syrian' characteristics is a precursor of Iron Age temples like the temple of Motza (Kisilevitz 2015: 151, fig. 1) and the biblical Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem ( Garfinkel and Mumcuoglu 2016: 175-76). One could also compare the NorthEast Temple to the 11th-century Southern Temple of Beth-Shean Stratum V (Mullins 2012: 145, fig. 13; Rowe 1940: pl. X), a temple with a fairly symmetrical plan, a direct entrance and a long central hall with smaller side rooms on both ...
Context 4
... the main hall (Yannai 1996: 171-72, 176). In our understanding, it is possible that the Acropolis Temple had an entrance in the west. However, the proposed paved antechamber cannot be accepted, because the paved area, interpreted as the floor of the antechamber, continues north beyond the line of the wall that encloses the main hall on the north (Ussishkin 1978: fig. 3, pl. 3.4). Thus, this wall cannot close another unit to the west of the hall (the proposed antechamber). If we are right, the two temples of Lachish share a symmetrical plan, side rooms and a direct entrance to the main ...
Context 5
... number of special artefacts were found in the NorthEast Temple, especially on the floor of the northern part of the main hall (D) and in three deposits. (Fig. 10:1) this arm was preserved; it holds a weapon that seems to be a mace or club that is attached to the figure's forehead. Both figurines wear a short kilt and a tall hat. Figurine A's hat seems to be flat-topped, while Figurine B ( Fig. 10:2) has a conical hat that recalls the White Crown of Upper Egypt. Below their feet are pegs that were ...
Context 6
... NorthEast Temple, especially on the floor of the northern part of the main hall (D) and in three deposits. (Fig. 10:1) this arm was preserved; it holds a weapon that seems to be a mace or club that is attached to the figure's forehead. Both figurines wear a short kilt and a tall hat. Figurine A's hat seems to be flat-topped, while Figurine B ( Fig. 10:2) has a conical hat that recalls the White Crown of Upper Egypt. Below their feet are pegs that were used to attach the figurines to wooden stands, as attested by the remains of wood found on the pegs of Figurine B. Adhering to the left arm and chest of Figurine A is a piece of silver (1.5 cm long, 1 cm wide) that seems to be a small ...
Context 7
... known from literary and iconographic sources as gods of warlike nature and appearance, although it is impossible to identify our figurines with either due to the lack of clear attributes (Cornelius 1994;Negbi 1976: 30-31). Next to the figurines was found a bronze sceptrehead consisting of a rectangular plaque and a broken peg made in one piece (Fig. 11). There are remains of a silver coating on one side of the plaque, which is probably the object's front. This side is also decorated with a schematic decoration of unclear nature, consisting of a number of incised lines and circular depressions. The only certain parallel is from Hazor, where such a sceptre was found inside a shrine ...
Context 8
... together in the eastern part of the main hall, beside the north-eastern side of the stone platform. As previously described (Weissbein et al. 2016), the three pieces originated from a single pendant in the shape of an inverted pear bearing a depiction of a nude goddess with a Hathor coiffure, who holds two stems of lotus flowers or papyrus (Fig. ...
Context 9
... deposit was found in the foundation of one of the walls of the holy of holies (H), in the northern part of the temple. The deposit includes beads of gold and carnelian, four gold earrings, a bronze arrowhead (10 cm long), a bronze dagger (14 cm long) and a bronze axe head (13.3 cm long) (Fig. 13). The deposit was originally wrapped in a bundle of cloth; remains of which can still be seen on the dagger and on one of the earrings. The deposit was probably placed here as part of a ceremony which accompanied the laying of the temple's ...
Context 10
... axe, though of a very different type, bears a decoration recalling that of the Lachish axe, although it is less clear. Rowe (1940: 76, pls XXXII:2, XLIXA:5) described it as a 'crescent-shaped device with legs (?)', while Miron Figure 12 Three pieces of a pear-shaped silver sheet pendant depicting a nude goddess with a Hathor coiffure who holds two stems of lotus flowers or papyrus (drawing by O. Dobovsky). ...
Context 11
... in pit L. BB1188: height: 21 cm | maximum diameter: 40 × 36 cm. Figure 13 Weapons and jewellery that were found together in a deposit beside the holy of holies: 1. beads; 2. earrings; ...
Context 12
... length: 6 cm | maximum width 6 cm | average thickness: 1.5 cm | maximum thickness (at nose): 3 cm. A fragment of a clay mask retaining the nose, left cheek and part of the upper lip was found in Square Pa8 on the surface of the temple's courtyard (Fig. 16). In the upper part of the sherd is a semi-circular hole that may represent the lower part of the left eye. The bottom of the sherd is broken below the upper lip in a way that makes it unclear whether the mouth was open or closed. Since the mask was shaped in a mould, its frontal surface is smooth while its back is relatively rough and ...
Context 13
... The position in which the beads were uncovered indicates that they belonged to a single necklace, into which one of the rings may have been incorporated as a kind of pendant. One of the rings is complete and has a bezel that bears a worn engraved decoration depicting a schematic image of the Egyptian goddess Hathor flanked by two uraeus serpents (Fig. 17). This type of decoration was defined by Schroer as 'Hathor fetish' ( Keel and Uehlinger 1998: 28;Schroer 1989: 140-53). The material from which the rings are made, as well as the decoration on the complete ring, points to their Egyptian origin (Nicholson and Peltenburg 2000: 175-79, 182-84;Ogden 1982: 124-25, figs ...
Context 14
... BB1457 (Fig. 18) Length 18.5 mm | Width 12 mm | Height 7.25 mm. A scarab that was found in a sounding in front of the entrance of the holy of holies (Fig. 5) ...
Context 15
... Re, is a larger erected 'uraeus' whose tail is curling; above its head, whose neck has been erased, is also a sun disk. The larger 'uraeus' serves, perhaps, as the determinative of 'Edjo' the goddess of Lower Egypt. There is only one known parallel to the complete motif, and it is was found in a 12th century context in Gezer (Brandl 1986: 250, fig. 1:6, pl. 1:6), therefore this scarab, as its parallel, should be identified as locally-made. On the basis of their head features the scarabs should be dated to the 19th Dynasty (13th century ...
Context 17
... the northern part of the main hall (D) five pieces of bronze with remains of gold coating were found (Figs 20-21). Four of the pieces were found together next to pieces of gold leaf in the debris on the floor, while the fifth piece was found in an upper layer of debris about 40 cm above the floor. ...
Context 18
... 2006: 109-10), as well as those uncovered in the temples of Megiddo (Loud 1948: figs 247, 250), Shechem (Campbell 2002: 147) and Hazor (Ben-Tor et al. 2017b: 98;Zuckerman 2012: 106). Staircases are also known in smaller temples, such as the Hurrian Temple of Ugarit (Yon 2006: 49) and the temple at Tall Zira'a ( Vieweger and Häser 2017: 159, fig. 1.52). We have suggested above that the North-East Temple too had such a staircase tower (Rooms B and ...
Context 19
... the destruction, the final activity in relation to the temple took place. This activity is marked by a 'lamp and bowl' deposit that was placed into the mudbrick debris in the south-western corner of the main hall (Fig. 25). A scarab was found in that mudbrick debris very close to the upper bowl (Fig. 19 -see above). The deposit was clearly left after the destruction, because it was found above the floor rather than below it, as is typical of this type of deposit. In addition, all four vessels that make up the deposit (three bowls and a lamp) were found intact and without soot marks, in marked contrast to all the other pottery vessels found in the ...
Context 20
... overlooks the Hula Valley (Zuckerman 2012: 105-07). Over the years, temples of the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age I have been uncovered at about 18 sites in the southern Levant (Fig. 1). At most of those sites only one temple is known in each stratum, although in a few cases two temples were found together, one beside the other (Beth-Shean V; Kamid el-Loz T1, T2; Tell Qasile XI-X). Pairs of temples are also known in the north, as in the acropolis temples of Ugarit and Emar. In the southern Levant it is only at Hazor, ...
Similar publications
AI-Aided Architectural Fabrication 19 - Symposium Report
In comparison to monolithic perovskite/perovskite double-junction solar cells, a four-terminal spectrum-splitting system is a simple method to obtain a higher power conversion efficiency (PCE) because it has no constraints of unifying the structures of the top and bottom cells. In this work, utilizing the fact that low-bandgap Sn–Pb bottom cells wo...
Citations
... The Fourth Expedition to Lachish (2013-2017), a joint project of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Southern Adventist University (Garfinkel et al., 2021), exposed a large structure currently understood to be a temple belonging to Level VI, dubbed the North-East Temple (hereafter NET) (Weissbein et al., 2019). The NET is located in Area BB, in the north-east corner of the site (Fig. 3). ...
... It was oriented on a north-south axis and entered from the south. On the basis of architectural parallels and material culture finds, it is identified as a 'Syrian Temple' or 'Tower Temple' (Fig. 4; Mazar, 1992: 164-173;Weissbein et al., 2019). It consists of eight architectural units (A-H; Fig. 4): an entrance portico (Unit A) flanked by two towers (Units B-C), a main hall (Unit D), two rooms to the west of the main hall (Units E-F), at least one more room to the east (Unit G), and another room, which probably served as the holy of holies, to the north of the main hall (Unit H). ...
... Material culture finds that support the identification of this structure as a temple include two standing stones (Inst. BB1132), two bronze 'smiting god' figurines and a bronze sceptre plated with silver in Unit D, two deposits of large bronze cauldrons (one in Unit D and another at the entrance to Unit E) and a deposit of jewellery and metal objects in the northern wall of the temple, Wall BB262 (Weissbein et al., 2019;Garfinkel, 2020;Fig. 4). ...
Burnt structures are well known archaeologically throughout the Near East. This study proposes an integrated interpretational framework for reconstructing fires in mud-brick structures using macro- and micro-archaeological types of evidence employing well-established tools. While previous research often utilized either macroscopic field evidence or micro-geoarchaeological data, here we present the integration of stratigraphy, architecture and location of artefacts in the framework of archaeology of crisis, spatial reconstruction of fire temperatures using micro-geoarchaeology, insights from experimental archaeology, and concepts from fire investigation. We demonstrate the utility of this integrative framework in a high-resolution reconstruction of a destructive fire event that occurred in the Late Bronze Age North-East Temple at Tel Lachish, ca. 1210–1126 BCE. We identify the area of ignition and the fire propagation path, and propose the cause of the fire in relation to the archaeology and history of the site in the 12th century BCE.
... The fieldwork at Lachish was conducted over five years, from 2013 to 2017. So far an extensive interim excavation report has been published, as well as studies of specific aspects (Weissbein et al. 2016(Weissbein et al. , 2019Brandl et al. 2019;Klingbeil et al. 2019;Garfinkel 2020;Kang and Garfinkel 2021). Among the finds was a Canaanite inscription from Level VI, dated to ca. 1200-1150 BCE (Sass et al. 2015). ...
... Fig. 23.21:7). The third comb, made of bone and painted with red pigment as reported below in Section 4, was discovered in the Northeast Temple of Level VI dated to the beginning of the 12 th century BCE until its destruction in the second half of the 12 th century (Weissbein et al. 2019). ...
An inscription in early Canaanite script from Lachish, incised on an ivory comb, is presented. The 17 letters, in early pictographic style, form seven words expressing a plea against lice.
... Yosef Garfinkel, Michael Hasel, and Martin Klingbeil took up excavation at Lachish from 2013 until 2017. They concentrated on the northern and north-eastern part of the tell and the area west of the Solar Shrine (Garfinkel et al., 2019a(Garfinkel et al., , 2019bSass et al., 2015;Weissbein et al., 2019Weissbein et al., , 2016 ...
... From 2013 until 2017, Garfinkel, Hasel, andKlingbeil excavated at Lachish, focussing on the northern and northeastern edge of the tell and west of the Solar Shrine. They have published some of their results (Garfinkel et al. 2019a(Garfinkel et al. , 2019bSass et al. 2015;Weissbein et al. 2019Weissbein et al. , 2016, but the faunal analysis is still in progress. ...
The Bronze (3,600 BCE – 1,200 BCE) and Iron (1,200 – 586 BCE) Ages in the southern Levant witnessed major social, political, and cultural changes. These include the first development of complex urban-based settlements, and the genesis of new cultural identities. Such changes are deeply entangled with, and often driven by, developments in agriculture. Although many pub- lished botanical and faunal reports are available for sites dating to this period, there is a shortage of syntheses searching for general trends in subsistence developments, and to what extent such trends are related to cultural and/or environmental factors. Moreover, botanical and faunal re- mains are usually analysed independently from each other, limiting our understanding of agri- cultural practices and subsistence in past societies. This separation of animal husbandry and crop cultivation in archaeological research is an artefact of methodological differences between disciplines, which needs to be overcome to gain a more holistic understanding of how economic developments drove, and were driven by, major socio-political and environmental change. I investigate the development of subsistence practices in the southern Levant from the Bronze through the Iron Age in three steps. First, I analyse the faunal material from two sites, Tell Lachish and Tell el-Burak, using traditional zooarchaeological methods to understand diet and animal husbandry strategies on a regional scale. Second, I establish a reference database con- sisting of the abundance data of published faunal reports. Third, I use correspondence analysis to investigate trends in animal-based subsistence strategies, and to integrate faunal and botani- cal data for obtaining a holistic view of subsistence and agriculture. My results show changes in diet through time in the southern Levant, caused by cultural and environmental factors. There is a clear difference between the diet of people inhabiting sites dating to the Early and Middle Bronze age, and those dating to the Late Bronze and Iron Age. The former are associated with high numbers of pigs, wild faunal taxa, and emmer wheat. The latter are characterised by the appearance of zebu, camelids, and an increasing focus on free- threshing wheats. I reveal differences between the diet of people at sites of high and lower mean annual precipitation zones, and between those of sites located at lower and higher elevations. My dissertation shows the value of site-specific analysis to reconstruct local subsistence pat- terns, the merit of using metadata to reconstruct trends in diet through time and space, and the benefits and potential of an integrative analysis to obtain a holistic understanding of subsistence developments of past societies.
... From 2013 until 2017, Garfinkel, Hasel, and Klingbeil excavated at Lachish, focussing on the northern and northeastern edge of the tell and west of the Solar Shrine. They have published some of their results (Garfinkel et al. 2019a(Garfinkel et al. , 2019bSass et al. 2015;Weissbein et al. 2019Weissbein et al. , 2016, but the faunal analysis is still in progress. ...
Lachish (Tell ed-Duweir) is located in the southern part of the Judean foothills, known as the Shephelah, and is one of the larger and most extensively excavated multi-period sites in the southern Levant. We present the faunal results of the first three seasons of the most recent excavations, the Austrian-Israeli Expedition to Tel Lachish. The expedition focusses on two areas of the tell encompassing the Middle Bronze Age III through the Iron Age II, area S (deep section) and area P (palace area). The aims for the faunal analysis are threefold: comparing the results between the two areas, seeing how our results compare to previous analyses, and comparing Lachish to other synchronous sites in the Shephelah. We observe differences in subsistence strategies between the areas in addition to diachronic differences. Ovicaprids dominate all assemblages, but we see shifts in the sheep to goat ratio and mortality profiles through time indicating changes in subsistence strategies. Our new results largely agree with the results from previous analyses, showing the value of previous studies and their potential compatibility with newer research. A synchronic comparison of Lachish within the Shephelah shows the occupants of the site were largely self-sufficient but possibly engaged in an exchange of resources in the vicinity.
... Lakhish and the Egyptian hold on Canaan manifests itself also in the fate of the fortress, which was abandoned in the second half of the twelfth century BCE. This abandonment was the result of the Egyptian withdrawal from Canaan, usually dated to around 1130 BCE (as also emerges from radiocarbon dating; Webster et al. 2017;Garfinkel et al. 2019). The withdrawal was accompanied by the destruction of Canaanite cities that had been under Egyptian protection, first among them Lakhish and 'Azeqa, which were violently destroyed. ...
http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/Report_Detail_eng.aspx?print=all&print=all&print=all&id=25838
Modern archaeological scholarship typically overlooks the experiences of people with disabilities, assuming that ancient societies, like contemporary ones, focused on the able-bodied. However, recent developments in the field have demonstrated the possibility of uncovering previously hidden aspects, such as prostheses and votive offerings related to disabilities at healing shrines. Nevertheless, excavations and material culture interpretations still often neglect the lived experiences of individuals with disabilities in antiquity. This article proposes a novel approach that integrates disability studies and mobility design into archaeology to shed light on the lives of the disabled. It applies these concepts to examine access to temples for people with disabilities in ancient Greece, Egypt, and Canaan/Israel, serving as a proof of concept to show that archaeologists can uncover insights into disability by understanding the theological underpinnings of religious site construction.
A previously unknown square building was uncovered at Gal’on in the Judean Shephelah, located between Tel Zayit and Tel Burna. The building was identified as a fortress, similar in plan and dimensions to several other excavated buildings designated “Governors’ Residencies”, and to a few buildings that were defined as “fortresses”—all associated with Egyptian imperial rule in Canaan in Dynasties XIX and XX. The construction of the isolated building at Gal’on may have been related to the reorganization of Canaan under Egyptian rule, possibly in the reign of Ramses III. The building may have been occupied by an Egyptian military force, or more plausibly by a local Canaanite force associated with the city-state of Lakhish. This article discusses the Gaʼlon fortress in light of the other previously unearthed buildings, providing a comprehensive understanding of the geopolitical changes in the region in the twelfth century BCE. http://www.atiqot.org.il/
For many years, the Late Bronze/Iron Age transition in the southern Levant has been the subject of intense debates concerning chronological matters and cultural developments. Ceramic studies were often the focal point of the discussion, but they usually concentrated on the appearance of Aegean-style pottery in the southern Coastal Plain and the nearby Shephelah, while largely disregarding the indigenous pottery tradition. In this paper, I study the processes of continuity and change in ceramic shape morphology and decoration techniques of three important tell-sites in the Shephelah: Lachish, ʿAzẹqȧ (Tel Azekah) and Ekron. It will be shown that marked innovations took place during the transition to the Iron I. These were most likely triggered by the appearance of foreign potters who produced local Aegean-style wares and seem to have influenced the traditions of the indigenous ceramic workshops. Such insights not only allow a fine-tuning of the relative chronology of the region at the end of the second millennium BCE, but also illuminate the transmission of professional knowledge and cultural traits through the ages.
Please click on the DOI link above for the full open access version.
Ancient Lachish (Tell ed-Duweir) in southern Israel is a key site for understanding the Canaanite cultures of the Middle and Late Bronze Ages and the Kingdom of Judah in the Iron Age of the Levant. It has been intensively excavated since 1932 by a number of entities. This article presents the excavation results by the Fourth Expedition to Lachish in 2013-2017. Fieldwork focused on the site's northeastern corner, a neglected area believed to have been uninhabited in some periods. Excavation in the area, however, uncovered remains of successive fortifications and evidence of cultic activities. The new discoveries highlight the strong connection of the Bronze and Iron Age cities to the nearby valley, which supplied Lachish with water, mud, fertilized land, and a major road.
This article investigates the applicability of the concept of liminality to the archaeological analysis of temple thresholds, with a primary focus on the Bronze Age southern Levant. Previously, studies on cultic spaces have emphasized temple cellae as the central focal point of ritual. In contrast, ritual performed at temple thresholds has largely been an ignored phenomenon. This study presents theoretical, textual, and archaeological data to support the argument that thresholds, in general, elicited ritual activity, and that within temple contexts, a wide range of rituals were conducted, and offerings presented. After investigating the topic of liminality in rites of passage, an array of ANE texts will be used to shed light on threshold rituals. This is followed by a presentation of archaeological studies that have attempted to apply the concept of liminality to the archaeological record. Bronze Age temples from two sites, Lachish and Hazor, will be used as case studies to investigate whether there is evidence from the southern Levant for ritual in entrances and thresholds. The results of this study demonstrate that temple thresholds in Canaan did in fact function as liminal spaces within which ritual was conducted. Additionally, this study identifies an important distinction between rituals that were performed in the liminal space of thresholds and those that were performed in the temple’s cella. Ritual in the cella was theocentric, with the primary focus on the deity, while ritual at thresholds was anthropocentric, concerned with humans and their status transformations.
