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Home > Sacred Center: The Iron Age Temple at Biblical Ataroth

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Overview of Ataruz (likely biblical Ataroth)_APAAME_20181014_MND-0049

© APAAME / PHOTO BY MAT DALTON

SACRED CENTER. Sparse agricultural land surrounds the rise where the sanctuary at Ataruz (likely biblical Ataroth) once stood. Excavations at the Jordanian site, visible in the center of this aerial photograph, have revealed a major Iron Age temple complex dating from the ninth to the sixth centuries BCE. The complex commanded an expansive view of the Dead Sea, some 6.5 miles to the west, and likely would have been a prominent landmark and destination for travelers moving north and south along the biblical King’s Highway.