John Laughlin

A unique installation, probably used in a water libation ritual, was discovered 70 feet south of the sacred area at Dan. The components are a central sunken basin flanked by two basalt slabs which slope toward the open mouths of two buried jars. It is not known what purpose was served by the pile of small stones with holes.

The 20-foot-long installation dates to the late tenth-ninth century B.C., the time of the divided monarchy in Israel.