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Archaeologists Discover Canaanite 'Temple of the Rising Sun' Near Jerusalem [View all]
Archaeologists have uncovered the ruins of a Canaanite temple built to greet the rising sun atop the mound of Azekah, an ancient settlement in today's central Israel. The Late Bronze Age compound and the spectacular artifacts found within it offer insight into the religious beliefs of the Canaanites, showing a strong influence of ancient Egyptian culture, researchers say.
Evidence of the violent destruction of the temple and the entire site also opens a window into the sudden collapse of multiple civilizations that occurred at the end of the Bronze Age and led to the rise of new cultures and political entities in the Levant, including the ancient Israelites.
Worship centered around a stone altar and a basin to drain liquids from offerings, all coated in plaster, the team reports. Next to the altar was a pillar, a common cultic object in the ancient Levant, which was made of smoothed limestone and reflected the morning light.
"Given the brightness of these surfaces, it is easy to imagine the rays of the morning sun painting this space in vibrant hues of gold, orange, and pink," the archaeologists write.
The orientation to the east is known from other sanctuaries in the Levant and closely parallels Egyptian solar temples of the same period, which were dedicated to the sun's daily rebirth, the researchers say.
Inside the halls of the temple the archaeologists found many cultic objects that blended Egyptian and Canaanite cultural elements. These included a bronze statue of the Canaanite storm god, Baal, and a rare amulet made of enstatite, a mineral unavailable in Canaan, which would have had to be imported from Egypt. The artifact's back is covered in hieroglyphs while the front depicts a triad of Egyptian deities: the sun god Ra; Seth, lord of storms, war and general mischief; and the sky goddess Hathor.
Evidence of the violent destruction of the temple and the entire site also opens a window into the sudden collapse of multiple civilizations that occurred at the end of the Bronze Age and led to the rise of new cultures and political entities in the Levant, including the ancient Israelites.
Worship centered around a stone altar and a basin to drain liquids from offerings, all coated in plaster, the team reports. Next to the altar was a pillar, a common cultic object in the ancient Levant, which was made of smoothed limestone and reflected the morning light.
"Given the brightness of these surfaces, it is easy to imagine the rays of the morning sun painting this space in vibrant hues of gold, orange, and pink," the archaeologists write.
The orientation to the east is known from other sanctuaries in the Levant and closely parallels Egyptian solar temples of the same period, which were dedicated to the sun's daily rebirth, the researchers say.
Inside the halls of the temple the archaeologists found many cultic objects that blended Egyptian and Canaanite cultural elements. These included a bronze statue of the Canaanite storm god, Baal, and a rare amulet made of enstatite, a mineral unavailable in Canaan, which would have had to be imported from Egypt. The artifact's back is covered in hieroglyphs while the front depicts a triad of Egyptian deities: the sun god Ra; Seth, lord of storms, war and general mischief; and the sky goddess Hathor.
https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/2024-03-10/ty-article/archaeologists-discover-canaanite-temple-of-the-rising-sun-in-central-israel/0000018e-26fe-d7d3-abce-66ffa0260000
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