Archaeology & History

Ancient temple unearthed near Jerusalem

By T.K. Randall
December 28, 2012 ·  10 comments

Image Credit: sxc.hu The find is particularly valuable because so little remains of ritual buildings in the region from this period. The temple was discovered at Tel Motza in the western outskirts of the capital. Ritual pottery vessels, figurines and other artifacts have already been recovered from the ruins. "The ritual building at Tel Motza is an unusual and striking find, in light of the fact that there are hardly any remains of ritual buildings of the period in Judea at the time of the First Temple," the excavation directors said in a statement.

It is believed that the evidence found at the site points to the existence of a ritual cult dating back to the beginning of the Judean monarchy. During its prime the temple walls would have been massive, a testament to the traditional temple construction techniques of the time.[!gad]The find is particularly valuable because so little remains of ritual buildings in the region from this period. The temple was discovered at Tel Motza in the western outskirts of the capital. Ritual pottery vessels, figurines and other artifacts have already been recovered from the ruins. "The ritual building at Tel Motza is an unusual and striking find, in light of the fact that there are hardly any remains of ritual buildings of the period in Judea at the time of the First Temple," the excavation directors said in a statement.

It is believed that the evidence found at the site points to the existence of a ritual cult dating back to the beginning of the Judean monarchy. During its prime the temple walls would have been massive, a testament to the traditional temple construction techniques of the time.

Source: Russia Today | Comments (10)

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