Image Details

ADAM BEAN AND CHRISTOPHER ROLLSTON / A. BEAN ET AL. , “AN INSCRIBED ALTAR FROM THE KHIRBAT ATARUZ MOABITE SANCTUARY,” LEVANT 50 (2018), PP. 211–236

TANTALIZING TEXT. This inscribed incense burner offers a tantalizing glimpse into the Moabite triumph at Ataruz. Though fragmentary and badly weathered, the inscription (modern drawing shown here for clarity) appears to date to the late ninth century based on the early Moabite form of the script. This would align closely with the period just after the Moabite king Mesha’s rebellion against Israel, mentioned in both the Hebrew Bible and the famous Mesha Stele. The text of the inscription references thousands of “foreign men” killed in battle, while another part appears to detail bronze goods claimed as spoils from the temple’s destruction.