Image Details

A kneeling man. This 6-inch-high figurine with a stick-like body was found in the enclosed area of the bamah at Qitmit. Fragments of additional figurines found nearby suggest that he was one of a dozen or so in the vicinity of the bamah. It is possible that he may be kneeling in prayer.

The ruins at Qitmit constitute the first Edomite shrine ever excavated, and thus contribute enormously to our understanding of Edomite religious practices. Located in the heart of the Judahite settlement of the eastern Negev, Qitmit provides evidence of the Edomite conquest of this Judahite territory at about the time of the fall of Judah in 586 B.C., or a few years later.