Image Details

Joel S. Burnett

The ‘Aṭaruz Temple, a ninth-century B.C.E. Moabite temple, has been uncovered at Khirbat ‘Aṭaruz, a site identified with Biblical Ataroth and located in Jordan about 7 miles east of the Dead Sea. Many cultic artifacts were found in this Iron Age temple, including a ceramic bull statue and a terracotta shrine model (shown here)—both of which date to the ninth century B.C.E. The bull statue was uncovered in the temple’s central courtyard, and the terracotta shrine model came from the temple’s main sanctuary. This fenestrated multi-story shrine model was originally painted and has two male figures standing in two of its openings.