Canaanite Cult Stone in a Jewish Farmhouse

Bible and archaeology news

Noah Wiener September 04, 2013 3 Comments 1127 views Share

Archaeologists recently uncovered a Canaanite ritual stone in the second story of a Second Temple period Jewish farmhouse in northern Israel. In six seasons of excavations, the international expedition at Tel Rekhesh has uncovered tools, lamps and coins confirming the chronology and the villagers’ Jewish identity. The site is associated with Anaharath, a city known from the Bible (Joshua 19:19) and Egyptian records, including the famed Amarna tablets.

The carved stone is a ritual type known from Canaanite sites; its out-of-context location in the doorframe of a Jewish structure suggests that it had lost its cult function in this later setting. Materials were often reused in the ancient world; in the process, some lose their sanctity. The profanation of once-sacred objects can be the result of intentional degradation of a foreign material culture. More commonly, objects lose their meaning as they are reused for simple utility purposes. Kinneret College archaeologist Mordechai Aviam told The Jewish Press “This is the unique development of archaeological hills in Israel, where successive generations mingle ritual objects on their way from the world of the Canaanite mythology to monotheism.”

BAS Library Members: Read “Sacred Stones in the Desert” by Uzi Avner as it appeared in Biblical Archaeology Review.