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QAIS TWEISSI

MOABITE SHRINE. Just east of the inner courtyard, an outer courtyard extended down the sloping ground of the site. Along its northern edge stood this small chamber dating slightly later than the rest of the complex. This modest shrine is likely associated with Moabite control of Ataruz, which came about in the late ninth century BCE, shortly after the destruction of the main temple complex. Within the small cultic space, a portable, 20-inch-tall stone incense burner (pictured here) was found bearing a Moabite inscription—testament to the continued use of the site as a cultic center.