No title

ISSN: 00064)895

OF

BIBLICAL ARCH MAY

1977

Templesand High Places in -Israel

VOLUME40 NUMBER 2

Publishedwiththe financialassistanceof ZIONRESEARCHFOUNDATION Boston, Massachusetts A nonsectarianProtestantfoundation for the study of the Bible and the history of the ChristianChurch

Biblical Archeologist is published quarterly (March, May, September, December) by the American Schools of Oriental Research in cooperation with Scholars Press. Its purpose is to provide the general reader with an accurate scholarly yet easily understandable account of archeological discoveries, and their bearing on the biblical heritage. Unsolicited mss. are welcome but should be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Address all editorial correspondence to Biblical Archeologist, 1053 LSA Building, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109. Address business correspondence to Scholars Press, P.O. Box 5207, Missoula, MT 59806.

Copyright @ 1978 American Schools of Oriental Research. Annual Subscription: $10.00. Currentsingle issues: $2.50. Printed in the United States of America, Printing Department, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812.

&?I i:

.

R ;

M7

Editor: David Noel Michigan.

Freedman,

University

of

Editorial Committee: Frank M. Cross, Harvard University Edward F. Campbell, Jr., McCormick Theological Seminary John S. Holladay, Jr., University of Toronto H. Darrell Lance, Colgate-Rochester Divinity School.

Cover Clay statue of a ram with three goblets on its back, from Gilath, the Chalcolithic period.

Second Class Postage paid at Missoula, MT 59812 and additional offices

OF

BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGIST Claire Epstein

57 THE CHALCOLITHIC CULTURE OF THE GOLAN

David Alon

63

Christa Clamer and David Ussishkin

71 A CANAANITE TEMPLE AT TELL LACHISH

Emmanuel Eisenberg

78 THE TEMPLES AT TELL KITTAN

Amihai Mazar

82 ADDITIONAL PHILISTINE TEMPLES AT TELL QASILE

Ephraim Stern

89 A LATE BRONZE TEMPLE AT TELL MEVORAKH

66

A CHALCOLITHIC TEMPLE AT GILATH

COLOR SECTION: Photos of artifacts from Kuntilat cAjrud, Tell Qasile, Tell Mevorakh, Lachish, and Tell Kittan.

46

LETTER TO THE READERS

49

POLEMICS & IRENICS

49 NEWS FROM THE FIELD 52 COLLOQUIA 92

COLOPHON

A LETTER TO THE READERS

You brought them in You planted them in your hereditary mountain The dais of your throne Yahweh, you made Your sanctuary, Lord your hands created Exod 15:17

In an issue devoted to sanctuaries and temples, it seems appropriateto begin with the eternal temple, made not by human but divine hands. It is not easy to locate an imaginarytemple on an unidentified mountain in a poem full of rich but imprecise imagery, but that is the task which confronts us in the attempt to interpretThe Song of the Sea (Exod 15:1-18, 21) and especially the crucial and enigmatic v 17. The temple can only be located on top of the mountain sacred to the god who dwells in that temple, however, and the possibilities are limited in the biblical tradition by historical and mythological criteria. There are only two cases in the Bible which qualify for consideration: (1) Mt. Sinai/Horeb where Yahweh, whose oldest surviving designation may well have been zeh sinay, "the One of Sinai," had his palace. As we know from the tradition, the "tent of meeting" or "tabernacle" was

46

modeled upon it (Exod 25:8, 40) so the correspondence between earthly tabernacle and heavenly temple, one at the base and the other at the top of the mountain, is exact. (2) Mt. Zion/Jerusalem where Yahweh established his new permanent dwelling at the time of David's reign and his selection of the ancient city on the border between Judah and Benjamin as his capital. Here, however, the picture has been modified. The earthly temple, made with (human) hands, is on top of the mountain (which is too small to have a heavenly crest) while the heavenly temple, to which the earthly structure is related in the same fashion as the tabernacle, has not moved from its original location at Mt. Sinai. So far as I am aware, these are the only instances in the Bible with the threefold linkage of earthly sanctuary (miqdds?,heavenly temple, and sacred mountain. In my opinion, the only significant shift involves the movement of Yahweh in his earthly travelsfrom Sinai to Canaan and the ultimate establishment of a permanent earthly residence in Jerusalem. The heavenly temple and the sacred mountain remain the same throughout. They began at Sinai/ Horeb and remain there. It is my contention that the divine sanctuary (made without hands) is not associated with Jerusalem and Mt. Zion, though many able scholars have thought so, but rather with Mt. Sinai/Horeb. I do not believe that a serious case exists or can be made for any other location.

MAY 1977

The attempt to generalize the site (e.g., the mountainous areas of Canaan) is faulty and misses the basic requirement that the heavenly temple be on top of the mountain peak which joins earth and heaven. Other efforts to localize it at Gilgal or Shechem or Shiloh fail for lack of any combination of earthly and heavenly sanctuaries or mountain mystique. Where there were important sanctuaries, for example at Shiloh, Bethel, Dan, Beer-sheba, if sacred mountains played a role in the local cult or mythography, no significant trace has survived. On the other hand, where there are clearly identifiable elements of the sacred mountain theme, in particular the references to Sapon (= the North), the sacred mountain of Canaanite mythology associated in the first instance with Baal, but also, in a different manner with El, these are not associated with a specific cult place. Baal's temple on Mt. Sapon is described in detail-it is also made without human hands, though in polytheism the principal god need not use his own hands. It may be that Baal can claim the temple not only as his possession but as his work-but I doubt that this is correct. In the biblical tradition Mt. Sinai serves as the original locus for Yahweh, the heavenly palace and earthly counterpart, while Mt. Zion is the only inheritor of the threefold tradition and the location which displaces Sinai as the center of worship and the focal point of the religiopolitical entity. There are four basic arguments for identifying Mt. Sinai/ Horeb rather than Mt. Zion with the passage in Exod 15:17. (1) The date of the poem. If as I and others have argued this is a very early premonarchic song in its entirety, then it can hardly refer to the later Jerusalem Temple. There is much evidence and an excellent array of data and arguments in support of an early premonarchic date that effectively rules out Jerusalem and David's tabernacle or Solomon's temple. If I am right, the only viable alternative is Sinai. (2) The unity of the poem can be defended on structural grounds: its patterning-symmetry, envelope construction, and the like. Possibly the second part is a skillful imitation of the first, but it is so skillful as to warrant the adoption of a simpler hypothesis, namely unity of authorship. If it be agreed that the first part of the poem (at least vv 3-12) is very early, then the same argument applies to the poem as a whole. (3) The genre analysis supports the view expressed. Victory odes customarily are composed in the lifetime of those who participated. Such odes tend to concentrate on the central episode, with marginal references to events immediately preceding and following the action. The dramatic and epic unities are maintained and the poem BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGIST

itself flashes light on a single moment in ancient history. (4) The contents and terminology breathe the desert air. The horizon of the poem does not extend beyond Sinai and the wilderness wanderings. In spite of assertions or assumptions to the contrary, there are no allusions to the conquest of the land of Canaan. There is direct reference to Canaan, to be sure, but not as an object for conquest. The passage from the Song of the Sea relating to the Temple made by Yahweh (vv 13, 17) is familiar and has been treated extensively in recent years by a number of scholars. According to the vantage point of the poet, the events belong to recent history. The action proceeds from the victory at the Reed Sea to the journey through the wilderness to the settlement at the "mount of inheritance"whither they are brought and where they are planted. It is my contention that the expression ndwjh qodleka, "yourholy habitation," and the har nahdlatxkd, "the mountain of your possession," describe one and the same place, namely the area or territory around the holy mountain of Yahweh, wherever that may be. A related passage is Ps 78:52-54,where a similar association occurs: in v 54 we have gdbdzlqodd6 in parallel or complementary or combinatory relationship with har. The context is clearly that of the wilderness wandering, since the immediately preceding verse speaks of the guidance of his people by Yahweh to a secure refuge (= sanctuary) after the drowning of the enemy in the sea (an obvious reference to the episode at the Reed Sea). Here the word gdbtzl,"territory,"is used instead of newjh, but the sense is the same. In any event the use of the term qd?to describe the region brings us back to the "mountain of God" which is where the story begins with the episode of the burning bush. As Prof. Mazar has pointed out, the expression Dadmat q5del, "holy ground," is not to be restrictedto the few square meters on which Moses and the bush stood, but the entire district which presumably bore the name Qade? for a reason. The persistence in the tradition concerning the holiness of the site of the sacred mountain of God / Yahweh convinces me that the use of the root qd? in the passages is no accident but a direct allusion or reference to the area in Sinai. I have pointed to the link between Exodus 15, vv 13 and 17; the combination of Del-newjh qodleka and tdbiP•m6 may be renderedquite naturally: "To your holy habitation you brought them," which balances beautifully with wattitta CYm6behar nahdldtakai "and you planted them in the mountain of your inheritance (better: possession)." This arrangement not only stresses the congruence of the ideas but also links the holy habitation with the mountain of possession. It was precisely on this mountain that Yahweh's palace stood, a

47

palace made by Yahweh for himself with its throne-room and throne, on which he is seated, king forever (v 18). This heavenly temple or sanctuary with its holy of holies, where the deity was seated on his cherubim throne, constituted the tabnit or model seen by Moses during his sojourn on the same mountain. (Cf. Exod 25:8-"And they shall make for me a sanctuary and I shall dwell in their midst according to everything which I am showing you, the [tabnit] model of the tabernacle [mikan] and the model for all of its furnishings, and so shall you do.") While the language of v 17 may seem much more suitable for the later settlement of the Israelites in Canaan, it is nevertheless appropriate for the first settlement at Sinai. After all, the principal object of the Exodus, after escaping from bondage in Egypt, was to seek God in the wilderness. The actual settlement at Qadesh-barneawhich must be somewhere in the vicinity of the great mountain itself extended over the better part of a generation (typically 40 years), and in the eyes of that first generation may well have appeared to be a permanent settlement-"you brought them and you planted them." It is only later when a new generation and a new situation had arisen that the march from Sinai began. The new state of affairs is reflected in the Song of Deborah and Deuteronomy 33. In these poems the removal of Yahweh from Sinai is asserted, along with his march to Canaan. During this period, Yahweh travels in a tent or a tabernacle, since he does not yet have a permanent earthly abode. Shrines and sanctuaries abound, and the divine presence may be made manifest in any one of them, but in no case is there the developed tripartite imagery which we find in relation to the Sinai episodes in the beginning and the construction of the house of David and Solomon at the end. While the latter (the temple of Solomon in Jerusalem) effectively displaced the former as the cult center of the nation, the tradition about the earlier domicile never entirely faded from view. So what the Bible presents us with is two phases or stages in the faith of Israel-one focusing on the revelation at Sinai, the tradition of the founding fathers, and the organization of the new order, the other arising out of the military, political, and religious circumstances of the monarchy. If the passage in Exodus 15 points to the heavenly sanctuary erected by Yahweh himself on top of the sacred mountain in the midst of the holy territory, then we must ask about the corresponding passage in Ps 78:67-69: (67) Then he rejected the tent of Joseph and the tribe of Ephraim he did not choose. (68) But he chose the tribe of Judah

48

the one who loved Mt. Zion. (69) And he built like the heights his sanctuary like the earth which he founded forever. The contrast between the tent of Joseph (i.e., the migkan at Shiloh) and Mt. Zion is indicative of the shift from Shiloh to Jerusalem, reflecting the wars with the Philistines and the ultimate triumph of David (who is mentioned in vv 70-72). In that context we must attempt to interpret v 69. The basic content seems clear enough: "And he built his sanctuary"-apparently a reference to Yahweh's construction of his miqdai. (If our presupposition is correct that Yahweh built one sanctuary at one time, then this can only be a reference to the sanctuary in the wilderness at Mt. Sinai; but the context points to Mt. Zion.) The comparison between heaven and earth is established by the repetition "like the heavenly heights," "like the earth," and a comparison of heavenly and earthly temples is involved here. The heavenly sanctuary is eternal, whereas the earthly counterpart is not. The former is made by God while the latter is made by men. The temple or sanctuary on Mt. Zion is said to be like the one in the heights of heaven-its replica and with the special status accorded the place, the mountain which God loved. Nevertheless it is my contention that the heavenly palace of Yahweh is located, as it always has been, on Mt. Sinai in the southern wilderness. Men may worship Yahweh anywhere, especially at the approved earthly shrine (or shrines) and especially where the ark and the shrine are-and Yahweh, who customarily dwells in his heavenly sanctuary, will hear and respond. On special occasions he travels to and with his people-to deliver them from bondage in Egypt and to settle them in the land of their fathers (the latter after a long internal and external struggle-with himself and with Moses). Even though his name and his glory are attached first to one and then another and then finally only to Jerusalem and the temple there, his home remains in Sinai/Horeb, and an intrepid worshiper may seek him there, as in fact Elijah did-rejecting the convenience of sanctuariesfrom Dan to Beer-sheba--going all the way to the sacred precinct at Horeb (= Sinai) and seeking the presence of God in the same cave or grotto where Moses had met the deity long before. Elijahwas granted a certain vision (or anti-vision), but unlike Moses was not invited to see the true tabnit, the sanctuary which served as a model for all the replicas, especially the tabernacle and the temple in Jerusalem. But there is no reason to doubt that it was still there. Heavenly temples are built to last-M6ldlam in fact. DNF

MAY 1977

POLEMICS & IRENICS

NEWS FROM THE FIELD

Eblaite in Sumerian Script In the September 1976 issue of the BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGIST(Vol. 39, No. 3) there appears "A Letter to the Readers." In this letter it is stated: "Eighty percent of the Ebla tablets are not in the native Eblaite language at all but in pure Sumerian." This statement does not reflect the situation as I understand it. While it might be legitimate to say that the tablets are written in pure Sumerian (if this were taken to refer to the script), it is not correct to say that they are not in the native Eblaite language at all. Dr. Matthiae, later in the same issue (p. 103), states that all the texts, excepting the Sumerian word lists, are written in this oldest known Northwest Semitic language. Dr. Pettinato, in the May issue (Vol. 39, No. 2, p. 50), explains: ". . . the tablets, though written in Sumerian, were surely read as Northwest Semitic." Pettinato, as I follow his argument, points to the presence of Northwest Semitic affixes and lack of Sumerian affixes as evidences that the Sumerian logograms with which these tablets were written were read by the scribes as Northwest Semitic words ("Testi cuneiformi del 3. millenio in paleo-cananeo rinvenuti nella campagna 1974 a Tell Mardikh = Ebla," Orientalia NS [1975], p. 368). It is important to make clear that the Eblaite language was written with Sumerian script in two different ways because of the significance of this for the history of writing. Twenty percent of the tablets, it seems, use the Sumerian script solely as a phonetic representation of Eblaite. This implies that a revolution in the theory of writing took place at Ebla. From the clumsier system employing both logograms and phonetic signs, the scribes at Ebla turned to the simpler, purely phonetic method of writing, a considerable step forward in the utility of writing. In closing let me thank you for the impressive coverage you have been giving the discoveries at Ebla. It has been much appreciated by me as I am sure it has by others. Academy of the New Church Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGIST

Stephen D. Cole Theological School

Politics and Archeology Aaron Sittner in the Jerusalem Post, March 17, 1977. "Approval of the Government-sponsored Antiquities Law was blocked yesterday when the Knesset, in a surprise vote, adopted an amendment submitted by Yehuda Meir Abramowitz of Agudat Yisrael. "A year in the making, the law was framed to replace the Mandatory Antiquities Ordinance which currently governs the exploitation and marketing of ancient artifacts of historical value. "Abramowitzwas disturbed by the inclusion of the term 'anthropological remains' in the law. Noting that this refers to human skeletons, Abramowitz said the Jewish religion requires prompt interment of a person's remains-regardless of their antiquity. "He recalled that there have been cases in which ancient bones have been taken from historical sites, exhibited in museums, and then handled without respect and even discarded as rubbish. "The vote was 12 for the Abramowitz proposal and 10 for the Government version. "In accordance with Knesset rules, the final reading could not be held yesterday since an amendment had been approved. The law . . will probably have to wait until the Ninth Knesset for a final vote." And More Politics Abraham Rabinovich in the Jerusalem Post, June 29, 1977. "Israel's top archeologists are to gather in Jerusalem next week to discuss limitations placed on archeological activity by the coalition agreements between the Likud and the religious parties. The Likud agreed to support an amendment to the Antiquities Law which calls for burial of human remains found in archeological excavations, without subjecting them to areheological or anthropological study. Archeologists would have to report such finds to the religious authorities and receive their permission to continue to dig in the area of the burials.

49

"The agreements also would give a committee attached to the Religious Affairs Ministry authority over the area south of the Temple Mount, the site of extensive archeological activity. "Yosef Aviram, head of the Israel Exploration Society,

expressed

concern

. . . over the reported

agreement between the Likud and the religious parties. . . "The study of human remains and ossuaries often an plays important role in recreating the society, cusand toms, history being examined by the excavators. From the bones, the scientists can determine sex, age, and cause of death. (Prof. Yadin found 25 skeletons of men, women, and children heaped inside a cave at Masada, presumably the remains of the Jewish zealots who died there in the Roman siege in the First Century.) "The archeologists can also draw cultural inferences from styles of burial. Examination of bones found on Givat Hamivtar in Jerusalem several years ago produced the first remains of a crucified person ever found in the city." Gethsemane's Ancient Olive Trees Tour guides are inveterate romantics so it is not surprisingthat the guides to Gethsemanemaintain that its grove of olive trees sheltered Christ. They may, in fact, be right. Carbon-14 tests on roots from the trees show that they are 2300 years old. Such dating is notoriously flexible, but the antiquity of the trees is also supported by Prof. Shimon Lavi, director of the Orchard Department of the Volcani Institute, who estimates that they are between 1600and 1800 years old, but quite possibly more. Prof. Lavi had examined the eight ancient trees in the Gethsemane Garden at the request of the Franciscan friars who oversee Gethsemane because the trees were drying out and shedding leaves. Pruning seems to have arrested the disease, although it apparently was overzealous pruning that caused the death of two of the trees earlier in the century. Souvenir-hunters lopped off so many branches after the First World War that they killed the trees, which have only recentlybeen replaced. The two dead trees supplied the material for the Carbon-14 tests made at the University of California some years ago.

Jerusalem Post, April 8, 1977, describes the Ceremony of the Holy Fire, which takes place on Easter Saturday: "About mid-day, crowds of Arab Christiansjoin with monks, pilgrims, and people of the Greek, Armenian, Syrian, and Coptic communities around the empty tomb in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The throng fills the galleries and balconies as the Greek Patriarch (or his representative)and an Armenian priest enter the tomb and the door is sealed. "After some moments, the doors burst open and the Greek prelate, with two flaming bundles of candles in his hands, calls, 'Come and receive light from the eternal light which does not set, and embrace the risen Christ!' People stretch out their arms to ignite their candles from the light which originated in the tomb. The fire'spreads quickly from hand to hand until all the worshippers have a lighted candle. "The joyful processions around the edicule of the tomb and the basilica continue for almost two hours. . ... Then a triumphal procession

leaves the

building and disperses to respective community churches in the Old City. The parish scout bands participate in the happy occasion. Each group is led by someone who carries aloft a burning brand. "Metropolitan Vassilios of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate

.

.

. stated

that the ceremony

is the

'symbolic commemoration of our Lord's resurrectionand events

which

accompanied

it.' . . . Archmandrite

Modestos tells how 'pilgrimsfrom nearby Arab countries, Greece, and Cyprus, keep the flame alight in oil-lamps designed for that purpose, and convey it safely to their native churches.' "When in history did the Ceremony of the Holy Fire begin? Documents which relate the visits of pilgrims during the Byzantine period (A.D.325-614) indicate that by 384 there was already a regular practice of taking 'fire from the cave of the resurrection'and lighting lamps and candles from it. .

.

. Later it evolved into an annual

ceremony. The practice of having it on Saturday seems to have started in order for runners to reach scattered churches in the Land by Easter Sunday morning with their torches of fire." Samaritan Passover

Easter in Jerusalem The crowds of Christianpilgrims, overflowing the streets and churches of Jerusalem's Old City, were even larger than usual this year since Easter was celebrated on the same date by both the Eastern and Western churches. From among the countless ceremonies, services, and processions during Holy Week here, Oikoumenikos in the

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On the 14th day of the Samaritan month of Nisan (May Ist), the tiny Samaritan community in Israel celebrated Passover: "In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for a house. ..

. And they

shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the month and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it MAY

1977

after noon. . ." (Exodus 12). (Using a different calendar,

the Jewish community had observed Passover a month earlier.) For nearly 3,000 years the Samaritans have lived outside Nablus in the shadow of Mt. Gerizim. Their numbers have dwindled to somewhere between 200 and 400, many having migrated in the last decades to Holon. The four priestly families-Tsadaka, Danfi, Marhiv, Sason, and headed by the high priest Amram ben Itzhak-continue to live in the home of their ancestors and to venerate Mt. Gerizimas the holy mountain of God. The Samaritan rites are based on a Samaritan variant text of the Pentateuch A month before the Passover feast, the Samaritans assemble on Mt. Gerizim, where they remain until the feast. On the feast day, the men don the traditional dress of loose white trousers and white shirts. The elders are distinguished by red tarbooshes. A limited number of invitations are issued to outsiders, who were seated this year on both sides of a fenced enclosure within which were the elders, their families, and the sheep to be slaughtered for the sacrifice. The ceremony began at 5:30 when the high priest, in a bright green robe and a red turban encircled with white brocade, approached the altar. After readings and responses from the sacred text, 15 sheep were carried to a stone slab, where they were killed soundlessly and with despatch. The knife was held aloft, signaling the completion of the ritual slaughter-elders, priests, and other members of the community embraced one another. All the visitors were requested to leave before the preparation of the sheep for the Passover feasting: "nothing of it [shall] remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire" (Exodus 12). New Herodian "Western Wall" Found Abraham Rabinovich in the Jerusalem Post, March 22, 1977. "A new 'western wall' from the Second Temple period has been uncovered in Jerusalem-this one a testament to King Herod's fear of his fellow man rather than his awe of the Almighty. "The new wall, uncovered by archaeologist Magen Broshi on the western flank of the Citadel, was part of the western city wall built by Herod 2,000 years ago. The section uncovered protected his palace, which stretched south from today's Citadel. The wall is more than three times as thick as the present city wall built by the Turks four centuries ago. "The stones in the city wall bear a clear resemblance because of their margins to those of the Western BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGIST

Wall--600 meters to the east-which was part of the support wall of the Temple Mount. They are, however, smaller and not as handsomely dressed as the latter. Their purpose clearly was to withstand the onslaught of an enemy, and aesthetics were not as important as in a wall supporting a holy temple. "In a lectureyesterday at the Rockefeller Museum, Broshi said that the security-conscious Herod made use of an existing 5 /2-meter-thickHasmonean wall-itself twice as thick as the present Turkish wall. To this he added on the outside a 2 ?-meter-thick wall of his own, giving him a defence wall eight meters thick. (The Temple Mount wall, which had to support a massive fill, was five meters thick.) "This is the first time that a city wall from the Herodian period has been uncovered. A length of 150 meters has been exposed. "In a separate dig along the southern city wall, Broshi discovered evidence of the 'scorched-earth'policy adopted by a 13th-century Moslem ruler which left Jerusalem as an unwalled city for more than three centuries. "About 150 meters east of Zion Gate Broshi found remains of a gate and defense tower together with part of an Arabic inscription indicating that they were built by the ruler of an Ayyubid Dynasty, Al-Malik Muadham Issa of Damascus, in the year 1212. "Seven years later, the same ruler destroyed what he had built. The Ayyubids, as part of a settlement with a Crusaderforce then battling in Egypt, agreed to turn over to them Jerusalem and other cities regarded as holy by Christians. Before the Crusaders came to claim their prize, however, Al-Malik Muadham razed the city walls in order to leave the Crusaders exposed when they arrived. "The Crusaders were to regain possession of Jerusalem forjust 10 years;and it would be 320 years, said Broshi, before the city was walled again by the Turks. Having been exposed to the elements for just seven years before being buried in rubble, the inscription is still fresh and is still touched with red paint. "The point where the gateway was found is in a direct line with the Byzantine cardo (Fourth-Sixth Centuries C.E.)uncovered inside the Jewish Quarter by archaeologist Nahman Avigad. Broshi is convinced that the southern city gate of that period depicted in the Madeba map lies beneath the 13th-centurygate he found. "The same site was chosen by modern-day city planners as the point where an underground vehicular tunnel beneath the city wall would connect the 'Pope's Road' on Mount Zion with an underground parking lot to be developed beneath the large open space on the southern edge of the Jewish Quarter." 51

issue of the Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research (Vol. 44, 1977) will be devoted to the results from this important series of excavations in the Syrian Euphrates region. Institute of Archaeology London

ROBERT MILLER

COLLOQUIA The 2nd Temple University Aegean Symposium The Aegean Bronze Age-An Interdisciplinary Approach Euphrates Valley Archeology Scholars from Syria, Europe, and the United States gathered in Strasbourg 10-12 March 1977 to share the results of a decade of excavations in Syria on the middle Euphrates. Through the initiative of the Syrian Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums, with the assistance of UNESCO, the construction of a massive dam on the Euphrates at Tabqa for irrigation and electricity has been accompanied by an international campaign of archeological excavations. Digging has uncovered important evidence for cultural development over more than ten millennia. Papers presented at the conference covered a rich range of topics from prehistoric demography and architecture,early Sumerian trading and cult centers, the flowering of town life and international relations during the Bronze Age, down to events on the Roman frontier in the first centuries A.D.Not all the sites reported on have been flooded, and work is continuing on opposite banks of the Euphratesat Tell Hadidi where R. H. Dornemann directs the Milwaukee Public Museum expedition, and Tell Halawa where a German team is directed by W. Orthmann. The scope of the conference was extended to include two sites west of the Euphrates. At Abu Danne, a Belgian team under R. Tefnin is continuing work on a site with evidence from the Iron Age as well as earlier and will be ARCHEOLOGIST later periods. Readers of BIBLICAL in of the the director the interested particularly report by Tell Mardikh excavations, P. Matthiae of the University of Rome (see"'Eblain the Late Early Syrian Period: The Royal Palace and the State Archives," BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGIST 39, September 1976, pp. 94-113). The papers presented at the Strasbourg conference have been edited and will be published in the near future by the conference organizer, Professor J. C. Margueron of the University of Strasbourg's Centre de Recherches sur le Proche-Orient et la GrAce Antiques. A forthcoming

52

In 1976 Philip P. Betancourt, professor of History

of Art at Temple University, instituted the first symposium on the Bronze Age in the Aegean. The interest it aroused warranted a second symposium on 25 March 1977 which also attracted a large crowd. * Dr. Claireve Grandjouan, chairman of the Classics Department at New York's Hunter College, opened the meeting with a spirited paper entitled "Aegean Leisure Time." She contended that in spite of the

expansionof tourismin the Aegeanand offshoreradio transmissions, the islanders' use of leisure time remains today much the same as in the 2nd millennium B.c., as depicted on palace murals, vase reliefs, seals, ivories, and intaglios. Because the Aegean islands were isolated for most of the year, their culture differs from that of the Mediterranean civilizations where contact with new peoples and ideas inevitably modified the lifestyle of the inhabitants. The Aegeans, particularly the residents of Crete and the Cyclades, were sensitive observers of nature, leaving little doubt that they spent much of their time outdoors. The emphasis on flowers, gardening, and potted plants has no equal elsewhere. There is scanty representationof people eating and drinking, which probably accounts for the slim figures depicted on the frescoes. The lack of importance attached to feasting in the Aegean is in marked contrast to the emphasis on large banquets found elsewhere in the Near East. In the Aegean, moreover, there is no evidence of professional partyentertainerssuch as musicians, singers, and dancers, although there are representations of amateur performers in outdoor settings. If feasting was not highly regarded, however,

*It is a pleasureto acknowledgethe generoushospitalitywith which the participantsof the meeting were met and the considerationextendedto them. MAY

1977

festivals were-particularly on Crete. These involved processions, mystery pageants, and visits to shrines. The latter are located in the wilderness, and the separate urban temple so characteristic in the Near East is notably absent. Judging by the numerous representations, the most important festival, which took place every five to nine years, was highlighted by bull-leaping contests and probably other athletic feats. It is not known whether sports were part of the formal education in the Aegean Bronze Age, but frescoes from Thera depict boys boxing. There is little evidence that the Aegeans traveled beyond neighboring islands such as Thera, Delos, and Tinos, where they went for the late summer festivals. Dr. Grandjouan maintains that contrary to the prevailing opinion, fall was the major season for festivals-not spring. In support of her view she cited the palace or sancturary rituals which involved animal handling, particularly snakes which emerge in the open around the middle of August. According to Dr. Grandjouan, the young girls depicted on the famous Acrotiri fresco are not picking crocuses in a spring rite, as formerly believed, but are in fact gathering the ends of the pistels of the flowers, i.e., saffron. This well-known herb blooms in fall. Since 75,000 crocuses yield only one pound of saffron, this was a work-festival. The artistry of the Aegeans was the subject of Betancourt's paper, "Perspective and the Third Dimension in Theran Painting." It generally had been accepted that the artists of Bronze Age Greece had no sense of spatial relationships, but recently discovered paintings show clearly that Theran artists, employing the single plane, shallow stage, and deep stage methods, achieved an illusion of the third dimension. The shallow stage allowed for the representation of activity when the figures were strung out like a procession, as exemplified in the mural of the "Boxing Boys." The illusion of a third dimension is accomplished by overlapping-in this instance, hair overlapping head and shoulders-which conveys a sense of volume. Depth was also achieved by placing distant objects higher on the picture plane. In the deep stage method, the artists used foreshortening and three-quarterview. This method is used in the "Spring" mural to depict two swallows, poised in mid-air among flowering lilies. A more schematized swallow depicted on a vase is shown foreshortened, the farther wing drawn smaller so that it angles away from the viewer. Employing the three methods, the Theran artists could produce any spatial concept they wished, thus investing their paintings with a surprising vitality. Dr. L. Vance Watrous, speaking on "Aegean Settlements and Transhumance," advanced the theory that the special geographical features of mainland Greece BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGIST

and the Aegean islands required a diversified economy, combining such ways of producing food as herding and fishing. This in turn led to a seasonal cycle of movement by the population, i.e., "transhumance." Dr. Watrous used Karphi in central Crete, settled ca. 1200 B.c., and the Minoan site of Myrtos on the south coast of Crete near Ierapetra as illustrations of seasonal settlements. He pointed out that Karphi, situated 1100 m. above sea level, could hardly have been a permanent dwelling place, suggesting instead that it was occupied only during the summer by a population engaged in extensive sheepherding. With the onset of winter the people moved to a more temperate lowlands suited to the needs of the newborn lambs and where they harvested their crops of olives and grains. Myrtos, on the other hand, seems to have been occupied primarily during fall and winter. The winter streams, carrying the runoff from the Dictaean mountain range, supplied the water necessary for the herds and the washing of wool for the manufacture of textiles. Since no provision for the storage of water is evident, summer occupation of the site is excluded. The inhabitants of Myrtos must have moved in spring to a higher inland area with good arable land where water was readily available. Archeological evidence supports the concept of "transhumance,"which explains many features of sites that seemed irreconcilable with permanent settlement. Transportation and trade were the subjects of two other papers. Dr. Tamara Wheeler noted that while the actual sources of tin in antiquity still elude us, shipments of the metal can be traced through two tin ingots found by divers off the shore of Haifa. Reportedly part of a far greater number of ingots and possibly part of a ship's cargo, these ingots bear Cypro-Minoan signs and can thus be dated between the end of the 16th and the 11th centuries B.c., the period when the Cypro-Minoan script was in use. According to Dr. Wheeler this tin, from whatever source, must have passed through Cyprus where it received its markings and then probably was shipped together with Cypriot copper to a final destination to be made into bronze. The ingots' port of origin might have been Ugarit in Syria where Cypro-Minoan script was also used extensively, but the accessibility of Cyprus and its role as an international emporium make it a more likely candidate. Palestine had its own sources of copper and did not need to import it from Cyprus, but it lacked tin; the Haifa ingots might indicate, therefore, that this metal was being supplied through a Cypriot intermediary. Mycenean pottery found at Sarepta on the southern coast of Lebanon was imported from mainland Greece, according to Robert Koehl. A disk top and fragments of the handle from a stirrupjar, as well as the

53

Sinai." He presented evidence for the organization of the Israelite tribes in the area around Kadesh-Barneaand the development there of the belief in YHWH, citing in particular a number of sacred sites associated with YHWH in that region. In his opinion, correspondences with Egyptian documents from Dynasties 18 and 19 tend to support a date in the 14th century for the rise of Yahwistic religion among the Israelite tribes in Sinai. Dr. Richard Barnett, recently retired Keeper of Western Asiatic Antiquities in the British Museum, followed with a paper on "Bringing in the God to the Temple: Parallels in Assyrian and Israelite Tradition." Ceremonies for bringing a deity into a temple or shrine are known as early as the Sumerian period in Mesopotamia. Dr. Barnett presented Iron Age reliefs from walls and gates in the Syro-Hittite style, as well as Assyrian palace reliefs, showing processions, banquets, and musical performancesas elements in the ceremony of introducting a god into a newly built shrine. He then drew parallels with biblical tradition, particularly David's bringing of the Tabernacle to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6) and Solomon's dedication of the temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 8). "TheTemple Made Without Hands"was the topic of Dr. David Noel Freedman, Director of the Program on Studies in Religion at the University of Michigan and current director of the Albright Institute of Archaeological Research. Only two biblical passages refer to the temple made without hands: Exod 15:17 (Song of the Sea) and Ps 78:69. Both clearly indicate that this temple, the palace of the god, cannot be equated with any existing structure. In the textual evidence there are three requirementsfor this temple: the heavenly dwelling must be on top of a mountain, there must be a corresponding earthly temple below, and a mountain must link the two. Of the possible candidates, Mt. Sinai and Mt. Zion, the latter must be rejected, as the earthly sanctuary made with human hands is at the summit. Further evidence supporting Mt. Sinai as the proper GASTER LOTTAMOREAU location is found in the oldest biblical tradition reflected in the Song of Deborah, where Yahweh is called "the One of Sinai." Prof. Menahem Haran of Hebrew University then Temples and High Places: A Colloquium discussed the distinctions between temples, altars, and open cult areas. A temple or "House of God" in the Bible "Temples and High Places in Biblical Times," a was Hebrew of the of the in honor always a roofed structure with furnishings symcentenary colloquium bolizing the presence of the deity and functionaries to Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, was held in officiate in the cult. Altars accompanied temples, but they Jerusalem on 14-16 March 1977. Jointly sponsored by the also existed alone in the open and were used only to offer Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology and the sacrifices. A bamah (high place) was a particular type of Israel Exploration Society, the three-day symposium gathered scholars from Britain, Cyprus, Germany, altar, the exact nature of which is still an open question. Greece, Iran, Italy, Turkey, the United States, and Israel The third category, open cult areas, probably functioned as religious centers for travelers and consisted of one or to explore the subjectof religious structuresin the ancient more of the following: altars, pillars, or sacred trees. An Near East. Thirty papers were presented in six sessions. animated discussion followed, with many scholars citing The initial session concerned biblical topics. Prof. biblical accounts of bamoth, but it was clear that these Benjamin Mazar, the dean of Israeli archeologists, opened with a discussion entitled "YHWH Came Out or descriptions cannot be equated with elements uncovered

body sherd from another stirrup jar, appear to be identical with those found at Mycenae and suggest a mainland origin. However, fragments of squat jars with pyxides, lentoid flasks of the Levanto-Mycenean variety, and globular flasks, all found at Sarepta, are types of vessels found predominantly on Cyprus, although not of local manufacture. The Peloponnese was the most likely source for the Mycenean pottery at Sarepta, but it also appears that certain types of vessels were manufactured on mainland Greece specifically for export to the east. Dr. N. J. Becker discussed the "People of Kato Zakro," a site on the east coast of Crete. He expressed regret.thatthe skeletal material from Kato Zakro had not yet been fully examined. Nevertheless, the excavations of tomb enclosures from the Middle Minoan period and the contents of three boxes containing human skeletal material (discovered in the storeroom of the Archaeological Museum at Heraklion) indicated that these tombs served as ossuaries for a large group of people, possibly families, over a long period of time. The remains suggest that the people of ancient Kato Zakro were tall and robust and that, judging from appearance, the modern population of the area could well be their direct descendants. Two technical reportscompleted the agenda of the meeting. "DA and TA as Premises for Rational Arguments," delivered by Professor Emmet D. Bennett, drew attention to the controversy raging over the identity and function of the persons representedby DA and TA in Linear A of the Pylos tablets. "New Radiocarbon Dates from Thera"was the second paper. It had been hoped that radiocarbon dating would provide a fairly accurate date for the destruction of Thera, but Henry M. Michael reported that the dates obtained from samples taken in 1975 differed so markedly from those of 1976 that we must wait for further tests to establish either that the traditional chronology of Thera is correct or that an earlier one will have to be accepted.

54

MAY

1977

in archeological excavations, leaving scholars still in the dark about the nature of a bamah. After this theoretical first session, attention turned to the concrete as the ensuing papers focused on archeological discoveries of religious significance throughout the Near East. Prof. Doro Levi spoke on "The Continuity of High Places in the Aegean Area from the Prehistoric to the Classical," concentrating on his discovery of a sanctuary at the Acropolis of Gortyna. Dr. Ruth Amiran of the Israel Museum presented a very comprehensive review of Early Bronze Age sanctuaries and religion, emphasizing the general continuity from the Chalcolithic through the Early Bronze and the distant connections with Mesopotamia throughout. Prof. Spyridon Iakovidis discussed "A Peak Sanctuary Ceremony in Bronze Age Thera." The peak sanctuary (Aegean terminology for a high place) appears on a 16thcentury fresco at Thera as a relatively flat rock at the top of a hill or mountain, without any associated structure, upon which stand several figures in ceremonial dress. Dr. Amnon Ben-Tor of the Hebrew University discussed cult scenes on Early Bronze III cylinder seal impressions, presenting examples of shrines, horned animals; and human figures (sometimes disguised as horned animals). The rite depicted on these seals may be related to a fertility cult, in particular the cult of Dagan, as suggested by figures with stalks of grain for heads. Prof. Kurt Bittel focused on "Hittite Temples and High Places in Anatolia and North Syria," distinguishing between the temples of these two regions, the style of each going back to a local architectural tradition. While temples were common through the 2nd millennium, the high places, generally on rocky peaks, did not achieve predominance until the Iron Age. A number of papers were devoted to recent discoveries of temples, shrines, and cult objects. Beginning with the Middle Bronze Age temples at Nahariya and Tell Kittan, speakers then discussed several Late Bronze Age temples, at Kition in Cyprus, Tell Lachish, Tell Kittan, and Tell Mevorach. The Philistine temple at Tell Qasile and Iron Age shrines at Athienou, Cyprus, the cult of Kybele in Phrygia, the sanctuary at Kuntilet Ajrud, and Iranian temples and high places of the Ist millennium were also described. Reports on the Israelite sanctuaries at Arad and Beer-sheba and the cultic area at Tell Dan evoked spirited discussions. The final presentations in these sessions dealt with a church at Khirbet Ruheibeh and a synagogue south of Beth-shean, both dating to the Byzantine period. Cultic objects discussed ranged from the Chalcolithic pillar-figures of house gods found in the Golan to imported Aegean vessels found in Late Bronze sacred contexts. Directing attention to Jerusalem, Prof. Nahman Avigad spoke on "JerusalemOpposite the Temple Mount." He discussed his excavations in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, where discoveries have revealed that a prosperous section of ancient Jerusalem existed during the First Temple BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGIST

period, continuing until the Roman destruction of the city in the Ist century A.D. A fitting close to the colloquium was provided by the session held at the residence of the President of Israel, Prof. Ephraim Katzir. The first of the final two papers was delivered by Frank Moore Cross of Harvard University on "The Priestly Tabernacle in the Light of Recent Research." The traditional view holds that the priestly tabernacle was the creation of the Priestly school which was active after the First Temple period. Cross presented evidence in support of the historicity of the tabernacle. Its descriptions in Exodus 25-31 and 35-40 contain numerous Canaanite elements carried over from the pre-Israelite native culture of the region into the Israelite sources. As the biblical accounts were generally hostile to these remnantsof earliertraditions, it is unlikely that such elements in the description of the tabernacle were invented by later priests. Examples of Canaanite elements in the Priestly texts include fragmentary descriptions stemming from the Canaanite tent of assembly of the gods over which El presided. Traditiocritical analysis of the Priestly texts also has shown that the text as we have it contains an underlying, earlier document which probably originated in a description of David's tent sanctuary. Cross also concluded that, although there has been disagreementover the translation of tahag, its meaning is dolphin or small whale skin, indicating the material of which the curtains of the tabernacle were made, again a vestige of El worship. The final presentation by Prof. Yigael Yadin, President of the Israel Exploration Society, concerned "The Holy City in the Temple Scroll." Yadin's summary of his detailed study of this document from the Dead Sea Scrolls describedthe elaborate rules for those who were to live in the Holy City. In keeping with the basic tenets of the Qumran sect, the emphasis was on cleanliness and purity. Only those who were absolutely and completely pure could enter the city gates. To achieve the requisite cleanliness, such demanding rules were imposed that it was almost impossible for people to adhere to them. The Essenes at first attempted to carry out these regulations within the city of Jerusalem. When the people of the city failed to comply with these rigorous rules, the Essenes felt compelled to depart to a solitary community at Qumran by the shore of the Dead Sea. Here they practiced their regimen of purity in everydetail, in continual preparation for the advent of the Messianic Age. This session concluded a very stimulating three days at Hebrew Union College. The collaboration among scholars expert in all regions of the ancient Near East produced very informative discussions about recent discoveries of temples and high places and the many relationships between religious structures and their functions throughout the Near East. The Nelson Glueck School has promised an early publication of the proceedings of this memorable colloquium. VALERIEM. FARGO

55

THE

CHALCOLITHIC CULTURE OF

THE

GOLAN

CLAIRE EPSTEIN

The Chalcolithic period in Palestine-although still obscure-is characterized by scattered and sparsely populated settlements,but discoveriesin recentyears have addedto our knowledgeof thisperiod. Thesegroups now are known to have shared a common material culture, an agriculturaleconomy, buildingplans, and culticpillars.

During recent years several Chalocolithic sites have been discovered which confirm the evidence for the diffusion of this culture in different parts of the area, including Sinai and the Negev, central Palestine and the north. Nevertheless, the overall pattern-still far from complete-remains one of scattered, sparsely populated settlement. It is generally considered that the Ghassulians, as they are sometimes called (after the first important site excavated in the 1930'sat Teleilat Ghassul, northeast of the Dead Sea), arrived in the area during the course of the 4th millennium B.C. with a fully developed way of life. They can be divided into distinctive regional groups, perhaps indicating a tribal organization. Each group, however, apparently came from a single homeland. This is indicated by the shared elements in their material culture, basic economy, building techniques, and cult practices.

Orientedeast to west,withthe entrancein the southlong wall, most of the structureis takenup by the courtyard, whilein the westthereis usuallya smallbroad-room.The buildingswereusedfor agriculturalworkand, aboveall, for the storingof cropsand harvests;thiscan be inferred fromtheirpositionin relationto the cultivatedtractsand from the assemblageswhich contained many storage vessels,sickleblades(oftenshinyfromuse),variouskinds of diggingtools, agriculturalimplements,and grinding stones.Theinternalarrangements differfromstructureto structure;they include shelves along the walls, low

At a number of sites in the central Golan, rectangular structures used for agricultural work werefound.

The Rectangular-Building Plan In 1973 a previously unknown Chalcolithic group came to light in the Golan, and the excavation has added considerably to our knowledge of this culture. At a number of sites in the central Golan, rectangular structures were found (average size: 15 x 15 m.) built on the natural basalt rock which characterizes the region. The walls, in dry-stone technique, are preserved to a height of some 1.5 m., and the floors are roughly paved. BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGIST

partitions, stone "worktables," an oval installation of standing stones, and a cup-mark in the floor. By and large, however, all conform to the same plan, and it is likely that the small broad-room in the west, a recurrent feature, served as sleeping quarters. In one such room there is a broad stone shelf which may have been used for a bed, while a half meter above the floor a number of

57

Kiriyat

Shmona

Shabbe

ii

bRasm Harbush Dab'escatchmentsite

iii

xiii

Vii

Stone-heaps Numb.4,6,8 "Reservoir site" Sha'abaniyye 'Ein HaririRegion Siyar el-Kherfan

VIII

Dura

IX X

el-Majami Tell Fanus and Surroundings

IV V VI

"TellSlqiyye"

xi XII

Xiii

Kh. el-Hlutiyye

TellTurmus

e Kuneitra

"Ein0

Zivan

B'not Ya'acov Bridge

*X Rosh

SlOqiyye

VI

*ina

VI

tf

lih iii i

v.

Khisfin

Sea

of XII

Galilee

"•

Tiberias

Ra44

oFiq 0

I

5

I

) carta,

56

.C Map of Chalcolithic sites in the Golan.

JERUSALEM

10

IKm, MAY

1977

flattish stones project from the inner face of two of the walls, these being no doubt supports for wooden struts placed at an angle against the opposite wall used as a framework for a lean-to roof. On the other hand, in the courtyards thereare no signs of roof supports of any kind, and it can be assumed that they were open, the solid walls (65 cm. to 1 m. thick) being considered adequate protection for the stored crops. In view of the heavy winter rains in the Golan and the general orientation of the courtyardsin the direction of the natural water flow, it is possible that the buildings were only in use during the agricultural season in the spring and summer months. In plan, the structuresdescribed above are similar to many of the houses at Teleilat Ghassul where, owing to different local conditions, the walls were constructed differently: here, the foundation courses were of stone and the superstructureof mud brick covered with plaster (often painted with cultic frescoes). The basic house-plan, however, is the same and consists of a small broad-room at one end and an adjoining rectangular courtyard, with an irregularly shaped yard attached (probably used for auxiliary agricultural purposes, for animals, etc.). Buildings of similar plan are known from other contemporary sites, among them a house at Meser and the sacred enclosure at En-gedi.

The rectangularstructures are similar in plan to the houses at Teleilat Ghassul.

Thus it would appear that in the Chalcolithic period building according to a rectangular plan was customary, whether in the pre-village community of Ghassul or in the farmsteads of the Golan. Another common feature is connected with agriculture:among the botanical remains found at Ghassul were olive stones

Courtyardwithbrokenhouse-godfigureas found(centerright) set upoppositeentrancein southwall(left-prior to clearance). which were preserved owing to the exceptionally dry climate prevailing there, and in the Golan burned wood fragments have been analyzed as cultivated olives (three specimens found in 1974 were analyzed as Olea europaea and carbonized seeds as Pisum sp.), providing evidence for the beginnings of a developed agriculture in both regions. On the other hand, at Ghassul grain pits were dug in the courtyards, whereasin the basalt areas of the Golan the digging of silos was an almost impossible task. This accounts for the comparatively large number of pithoi and large storage jars. Pillar Figures In addition to the ceramic and lithic material, a unique type of house-god statue was found in the courtyards, known'only from the Golan. Schematic in style, these figures, made of the local basalt, are in the form of small pillar. It is likely that their circularity had a

Plan of rectangularbuilding.

. s

10too

....

7"7 _

58

-i

MAY

1977

Domestic altar in corner of courtyard.

Basalt house-god figures.

BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGIST

59

ii

"~*?~;~

-:

found in the "Cave of the Treasure"in the Judean Desert; a prominent nose is likewise characteristic of clay and ivory figurines from the Negev and appears on monsterlike representations painted on the walls of the Ghassul houses. The emphasis placed on the nose points to the great importance attached to it, and it may well be that in contemporary terms it was regarded as the seat of the breath of life and hence a symbol of the life-giving force, believed to be endowed with apotropaic qualities. It would appear that pillar figures representingthe appropriate tutelary godhead were customarily set up in the farmsteads and shepherds' huts in the belief that by virtue of suitable offerings (or libations) placed in the

Theprominent nose characterizing the cultic artifacts of this period was regarded as the seat of the breath of life.

bowl at the top, their protection would be ensured. By this means it was hoped to guarantee successful crops and harvests on the one hand and the fertility of the flocks on the other. For, as elsewhere in the Chalcolithic period, agricultureand pastoralism were the two main branchs of the economy. Basalthouse-godfigures. Pottery and Artifacts cultic significance, being considered an attribute of the godhead, and as such, symbolizing fertility. Pillar figures placed in the courtyards have been found at several sites; others have been found on the surface in different parts of the Golan, possibly from secondary usage. Of the dozen or so pillar figures known to date, some have animal characteristics, but most are human in form. The upper part of the pillar is treated as the "head"which terminates in a shallow offering bowl. Below it, on one side, different features are represented, such as eyes, ears, nose, beard,

A unique type of house-god statue wasfound in the courtyard.

hair, or horns. Many of the figures are sculpted with a large and protuberant nose which is the dominant or, alternatively, the sole facial feature. In the Chalcolithic period a nose was frequently added in nonfacial contexts to various kinds of cultic artifacts. It occurs on ossuary pediments from the coastal region and on metal objects

60

At all the Golan sites where soundings and surveys have revealed Chalcolithic material, the ceramic and lithic assemblages are similar in range. They include types known from other parts of the country, but many are new to the repertoire. The vessels are handmade, with some use of the tournette on rims and necks; the fabric is made from the local red volcanic clays and contains a high percentage of grits, including many basalt particles. In contrast to other localities, coil-building is not found, neither are there mat impressions on the bases. The pottery includes a wide range of large storage vessels and medium-sized pots, among them pithoi, jars, jugs, spouted and hole-mouth vessels, and bowls of all shapes and sizes; there is also a squat juglet and part of a miniature pithos. Cornets and churns, however, which are common at more southern sites, are completely absent. Most of the pottery is ornamented with impressed rope-pattern bands or punctured and incised decoration used horizontally-as is common on contemporary wares; but there are, in addition, many variations, including groups of oblique bands, circles and ovals, looped garlands, and filled oblong panels. Among the basalt vessels there are mortars, basins, and grinding stones of different shapes, flowerpot-shaped and rounded MAY

1977

bowls, as well as large unworked stones with a smoothed hole in the center. Among various kinds of agricultural instruments-likewise of basalt-whose precise use is not always clear, there are hafted hoes similar to those found

Among the flint remains, a unique multiplepointed, star-shaped tool was recovered.

at other Chalcolithic sites. The flint tools include forms which are typical of the period, such as adzes, borers, sickle blades, and fan-scrapers. There are also perforated circular scrapers, known especially from northern sites, including the Hauran, and a unique multiple-pointed, star-shaped tool, also perforated and made of tabular flint. Multiple-pointed tools have been found at other contemporary sites, but their exact function is uncertain. It has been suggested that they were used in connection with the preparation of wool. If so, they confirm the evidence for sheep and goat husbandry which is adduced from the sheep and goat bone fragments (mostly teeth) found on the courtyard floors and probably the remains of meals, from the presence of spindle whorls, often made of cast-off sherds, and, above all, from the horned housegod pillar figure .

In different parts of the Golan the landscape is dotted with irregularly spaced, small stone heaps. Frequently elongated in shape, they are found in close proximity to one another and are almost certainly to be interpreted as the remains of field walls. Built of stones cleared from the demarcated tracts, their purpose was to diminish soil erosion and conserve surface runoff. In many such areas Chalcolithic material has been found, and it seems logical to suggest that the field walls were in fact built by those who made and used the pottery vessels and stone tools, the remains of which lie scattered in the vicinity. In this connection the Chalcolithic site of Majami' is revealing indeed: here, several rectangular structures were excavated and the outlines of others

There was an attempt at primitive irrigation based on the exploitation of local water resources.

distinguished on the surface. Situated at some distance from one another, the farmsteads were erected close to the cultivated fields, in direct relationship to the stone heaps nearby. These were aligned parallel to and across the path of water seepage from the gullies and marsh areas which

Pithoiand largespoutedvesseldecoratedwith impressedrope-patternbands.

BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGIST

61

abound here, in an attempt at primitive irrigation based on the exploitation of local water resources; it is likely that the crops were sown in the saturated ground. Conclusions Notwithstanding the wealth of artifacts found at all the excavated sites, only a few vessels proved to be reconstructible, while much of the sherd material is weathered and worn. When found, such material was clearly not in its original position and frequently sherds from the same pot were scattered at different levels above the floor. Since there are no signs of destruction at any of the sites, it is likely that the settlements were abandoned, the inhabitants taking with them all movable possessions, including tools and household vessels, and the accumulated discarded wares were washed down annually with the winter rains. Alternatively if, as has been suggested, the buildings were only used seasonally, then at some stage the inhabitantSfailed to return, and in due course the courtyards became filled with debris. The reason.for such an abandonment may have been a change of climate-perhaps a prolonged dry spell-which made it imperative to look elsewhere for the basic environmental conditions essential for existence. So long as suitable conditions prevailed, however, the bearers of Chalcolithic culture were diffused over the central Golan plateau. This can be inferred from the

flint tool. Multiple-pointed

Pithoiandlargespoutedvesseldecoratedwithimpressedropepatternbands.

increasing number of sites recognized, indicating a wide distribution pattern which may eventually be found to extend well beyond the confines of the Golan proper. An illustration of this is Tell Turmus, situated in the north of the Huleh basin, at the foot of the Golan scarp, where the ceramic and lithic material from the upper stratum bears a striking resemblance to that of the Golan, including basalt house-god figures; it is likewise exemplified by the stone and flint material found on the surface near Dera'a in the Hauran. There are good grounds for suggesting that remains of the Chalcolithic culture of the Golan will come to light in regions lying farther east, as well as in northern Gilead. In the Golan itself there is every likelihood that additional sites will be identified, not only in the predominantly basalt areas but also in the south, where the presence of softer rock, such as limestone and conglomerate, made possible a certain degree of diversification in the accepted pattern of daily life.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Epstein, C. "Notes and News," Israel Exploration Journal 23

(1973),239-41;24 (1974),254-57;25 (1975),255-57;27 (1977),43-45. "BasaltPillar Figuresfrom the Golan,"Israel Exploration Journal 25 (1975), 193-201.

"Aspects of Symbolism in Chalcolithic

Palestine." Archaeology in the Levant: Essays for

KathleenKenyon.Ed. P. R. S. Mooreyand P. J. Parr. Warminster: Aris and Phillips,1977. The English version of this article (originallypublishedin Hebrew)was preparedby the author.

62

MAY 1977

A

TEMPLE CHALCOLITHIC

AT

GILATH

DAVID ALON

From the vineyards of Moshav Gilath has come evidence ofa cult that dates to Chalcolithic times. Therich artifactualfinds yield information not only about the religious practice of the times, but also, through comparison with the material culture of neighboring civilizations, about the economic andpolitical relations enjoyed by this area of the Near East.

One of the most important known Chalcolithic sites in the northern Negev is situated in the vineyards of Moshav Gilath. The site, which covers about 100 dunams in the vicinity east of the Patish River, was discovered in the early 1950'swhen the members of the moshav began to deep-plow their lands, and was investigated by the author and members of Kibbutz Urim. Numerous Chalcolithic clay and stone objects were collected from a low hill at the center of the site, some unique. These included violin-shaped figures of granite and crystalline chalk veined with green copper; disks and biconical maceheads of granite, basalt, and copper; and eight coneshaped objects of chalk and sandstone, four of them complete. The largest is 35 x 60 cm., the average size 35 x 47 cm. Two have large hollows above the base, 5 to 6 cm. in diameter, and on the head of the third there are holes. Since they lay close together, we conjectured that this had been a holy place. Very thick pipe-shaped implements, fragments of basalt cups and chalices, polished flint axes and hatchets, and typical clay vessels were among the

*The excavationwas sponsoredby the Departmentof Antiluitiesand Museums,headed by the author,with the assistanceof people living in the area. I would like to thank A. Eitan, Director of the Department,for permission to publish,RudolphCohenfor his enormoushelpin preparingthe dig, Michael Feist and Israel Wetkin for making the measurements,and Prof. Ruth Amiran for her unflagging interestand usefulsuggestions. BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGIST

finds. All indicated that this was the public center of the settlement. The major objective of a salvage dig conducted from 22 October to 18 November 1976* was to find the site of the monuments and figures and to learn something about their origin and significance. We dug nine 5 x 5 m. squares at the top of the hill and another series of squares 30 m. to the south. At both places the surface and Level I beneath had been seriously damaged by 25 years of plowing by the local inhabitants. Sections of walls, both

After 25 years of plowing over the site of Gilath, little remains intact of the surface and Level I occupation. of stone and mud brick, floors of pressed loess, and fragments of scattered clay and stone were all that remained of Levels I and II. All the finds were Chalcolithic and included many sherds-bowls and plates, hole-mouth and simple jars, beakers and churns, thick pipe-shaped vessels with double handles like ears on either side-as well as sandstone grindstones, and tools of basalt, pumice, hematite, and green and red-veined chalk. There was also a variety of flint tools: axes, hatchets, fan-shaped scrapers, sickle-blades, and picks. Beneath Levels I and II in both areas of the dig, there was an earlier level richer in finds than the two

63

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above but also partly damaged by plows. The finds were identical to those above, but in addition there were cosmetic boards and maceheads, mainly of granite and basalt, one in the form of a plate. Since identical maceheads are well known in predynastic Egypt, light is shed on the trade and economic relations between Egypt and Israel in Chalcolithic times. The remains of two rooms which were, in my opinion, part of a larger shrine were uncovered along the width of the building at Level III. The eastern room was

the larger, its north wall 7.5 m., its west wall 2.2 m., and its south wall 1.5 m., whereas the north wall of the western room was 2.7 m. and the east wall 2.2 m. The walls of both rooms were mud brick on stone foundations; the floors were of broad, thick unfired bricks. These were inner rooms in the north wing of a large, multi-roomed building. In the center a spacious courtyard, which once was bordered by the south wing, faced east. In the eastern rooms, fragments of a schematic violin-shaped figure of a goddess more than 20 cm. high

Potteryfemalefigure,seatedon a pedestalandwitha churnon her head.

64

MAY

1977

and made of red-veined crystalline chalk were unearthed. A granite grindstone and a basalt ax, whose cutting edge had been blunted deliberately, were found, both intact, along with pieces of two unusual clay statues. One is a

A highly realistic clay ram and the statue of a seated woman seem to be ritual vessels, used perhaps in the worship of Ashtaroth.

vessel in the shape of a ram with three goblets on its back; the other is a female figure, possibly a goddess, seated on a pedestal and with a churn on her head. The ram is 32 cm. long, but its tail was broken by a it was originally somewhat longer. It is painted so plow with horizontal lines and ten triangular red horns, extending from the back to the belly and pointing downward. In form the ram is very realistic. Its horns curve out and down, and its mouth is carved although the eyes are only painted circles. The other statue was also damaged by a plow and is now 28 cm. high. The upper part of the churn held by the woman's right hand is missing. Under her left arm is a clay vessel in the shape of a censer or small pedestal. Her eyes, like the ram's, are painted circles on either side of which are two vertical, curved red lines painted to look like braids;there are eight longer braids in back. Horizontal lines painted on her body suggest either a light garment or possibly a tattoo, and it together with the braided hair tells us something about feminine adornment for festive occasions.

Claystatueof a ramwith threegoblets on its back.

BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGIST

Violin-shapedfigureof a goddess.

The sexual organs are emphasized on both statues apparently as decoration; the bodies are churnlike. Since they were discovered among other ritual implements, it can be assumed that they had a ritual purpose-possibly they were used in a primitive festival of firstfruits dedicated to Ashtaroth, goddess of flocks and milk. Because both of these were crucial economically, from the Chalcolithic period on it was customary throughout the Middle East to place a statue of a sacred animal which represented the god in the shrine and to pour milk as a libation into it. In rituals of this kind ornaments were important symbols. The painted eye-circles, the crooked, jutting nose of the woman, and the triangular horns painted on the ram are paralleled by similar ones on sarcophagi from the Chalcolithic period, on a fresco at Teleilat Ghassul, on ivory figures from Beer-sheba, and on both a diadem and an idol made of reed found in the "Cave of Treasure." Because the excavation was brief, our information about the sacred area, its artifacts, and the ceremonies at Gilath is fragmentary. We hope, however, to clarify matters after the next archeological season.

65

COLOR

SECTION

Plate A. Kuntilat CAjrud: two of the painted sherds. Above: a representation of the goddess Bes and above her an inscription in Hebrew. Below: a seated womanplaying a lyre. Plate B, Bottom. Kuntilat CAjrud: a painted sherd depicting a cow suckling a calf. Spectacularfinds at the site of KuntilatcAjrud on the Sinai borderhavealreadybeen reportedin "The Name of God in the Wildernessof Zin," by Ze'ev Meshel and Carol Meyers, Biblical Archeologist39 (1976):6-10. The photos here furtherillustratethe richnessof the discoveries.

Plate B, Top. Tell Qasile: right-decorated Philistine vesselfrom the Stratum XII temple; left-cult stands and bowls from the small shrine. Plate C. Tell Mevorakh: selected artifacts from the temple. Plate D, Top. Tell Kittan: collection of vessels decorated in "chocolate-on-white" style from the Late Bronze I temple. Plate D, Bottom. Lachish:fragment of painted wall plaster from the temple.

66

MAY 1977

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